


Said and Done

by Gorsecloud



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-07
Updated: 2014-06-04
Packaged: 2017-12-25 21:15:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/957681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gorsecloud/pseuds/Gorsecloud
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Axel finally comes clean and tells Roxas and Xion the truth, they are left with a single choice - to live or die, to fight fate or accept it. And the choice they make will affect more than they can possibly imagine. Now on the run from the Organization, and faced with Sora sleeping for another two years, they must face the consequences of their actions - including making new friends and allies, finding out and foiling the plans of enemies on multiple sides, and most importantly, fighting to protect the thing that matters most: each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Said and Done has been a work in progress for over a year now, a random whim idea that I (Gorse) came up with while replaying 358/2 Days, and boy has it grown. It's meant to explore a rather simple "what if" - what if Roxas and Xion and Namine had all survived, but it took longer for Sora to wake up? What would change? What would the actual consequences of that decision be? Because let's face it, what happens in canon happens for a reason - changing that has a lot of rammifications. 
> 
> So that's what Said and Done will explore. It's not a magic "everyone lives and everything's better" AU. Things have changed. Good things and bad will happen because of those changes. Not everyone is going to be on board right away. But ultimately I think it will be a rewarding journey for them. I know it has been for the writers. 
> 
> This fic has been a group effort, and to that end, I'd like to thank the countless people who made it possible, each in their own way. It's been a long, long journey to get this far, and I couldn't have done it without any of you. So thank you so much to the following:
> 
> Rox, Twi, Mala, Jodie, Icey, Mega, and so many others. You guys are incredible.

 

  


Axel was restless. He felt like there were gears turning all around him, like everything was changing, but he couldn't tell if it was for better or for worse-he couldn't even tell what direction they were spinning. There was a roiling movement to the atmosphere but somehow Axel just felt stuck, like all that motion had trapped him in the middle and he couldn't get out lest he be torn apart.

Roxas knew now, what Xion was, what Xion was capable of, what she'd been created for… Axel wasn't sure what he'd been expecting-Roxas was a smart kid, after all, it wasn't like he would have stayed ignorant forever. The problem now was what to _do_ about it. At this rate, he was going to lose _both_ of them, and he didn't want that. He wasn't sure he could _handle_ that.

He had to get out of his room. He had to move-had to do _something_. He was tired of sitting on his hands and being a good boy, doing as he was told and waiting for the right time. It was never the right time for these sorts of things.

Axel had never liked the empty sound of the hallways in The Castle That Never Was. The way their boots clicked against the cold white floor always sounded too hollow, echoing unsettlingly in the air. It was _appropriate_ , he guessed, given what they were, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Axel."

Roxas' voice sounded empty too, and that was new. There was something heavy and turbulent in the boy's tone, and Axel turned slowly to glance at him. Roxas' face was dark, pulled too tight, and Axel marveled again at just how _human_ the kid could look. They'd done nothing but argue the past few days and he _hated_ it. He hated fighting with Roxas, he hated that dark look on Roxas' face… He almost wished he could believe he actually did hate it, instead of just remembering things he had hated once upon a time and summoning the same practiced scowls and muscle-memory pacing.

"Hey, Roxas," he said, finding his voice finally, and Roxas' blue eyes were pleading. Why did that look always make Axel's stomach do somersaults?

"Did you find Xion?" the boy asked, and Axel fidgeted.

"Like it'd be that easy," he said. "Even _I'm_ not that good."

"I guess you're right." Roxas lowered his eyes and looked for a moment like he wanted to say something more, but then closed his mouth instead.

Axel had pondered once or twice that expression about an elephant in the room. He had seen elephants and he couldn't imagine trying to cram one into a room, let alone ignore it once it was in there, but he was beginning to understand the point behind the idiom. This elephant was staring both of them in the face but neither of them would acknowledge it. Roxas had too many questions, and Axel didn't want to answer them…

No, that wasn't right. He _wanted_ to answer them; what he didn't want was for the answers to be what they were. He didn't want to lie anymore. Imagine that! Axel had spent so much of his life lying to everyone-himself included-that he wasn't even sure he knew _how_ to be honest, but he wanted to try. He just wished there was something less painful to try out being honest about.

"Did you know all along?" Roxas began then, cautiously, as if trying to figure out what angle to attack from. "Have you been keeping the truth from me from the beginning?"

Axel refused to flinch. _No more lies._ "Not… not from the _very_ beginning," he said haltingly, and Roxas' eyes narrowed.

"How long, then?" he asked.

Axel rubbed the back of his neck. "I can't remember, exactly."

"Can't get that sort of thing memorized, huh?"

For an instant things felt normal again-there was that sassy tone in Roxas' voice, a hint of a grin on his lips, like those days on the clock tower. What Axel wouldn't have given to have those days back now.

There was a beat of silence where Axel just held his gaze, and then the familiar old feeling was gone.

"Axel, who _am_ I?" Roxas asked, and Axel wished the kid would have asked him anything but that. He didn't want to lie to him anymore-refused to!-but how could he answer that? "Xion and I are 'special'," he continued, shaking his head, "but The Organization has been trying to destroy me, right?"

Axel nodded. "Yeah," he said, averting his eyes, "that's right."

"Because I'm expendable now that Xion's copied my power?" Roxas' voice was thick with a kind of indignation Axel wished he could have joined him in. "Did you want that too?"

He met Roxas' eyes again, something fierce in his expression, but he couldn't make his tongue work. _Of course I didn't want that!_ his mind screeched, a flicker of that coveted indignation flaring up in his heart. _How could you think I wanted that? We're-_

"We're best friends, aren't we?" he finally managed to blurt out, the words falling clumsily, rote, from his mouth, and Roxas glared at him.

"Are we?" he asked, and reached out suddenly to grab a fistful of the front of Axel's coat. "If we are, then just be honest and tell me what you know, Axel!"

Axel found himself musing on how _angry_ Roxas seemed, rather than what he was angry about. The indignation bled into something like jealousy, and Axel found himself wanting to scoff. If all he could think in that moment was how enviable it was that Roxas really did seem to have a heart, then wasn't that proof enough that he himself had none?

Maybe everything he'd done was a mistake after all. Maybe being in the Organization was a mistake. Maybe Castle Oblivion, and his plans with Saïx, maybe _everything_ had been a mistake. … Was his entire life as a Nobody a mistake he could even fix?

"Who _am_ I, Axel?" Roxas demanded, and Axel forced himself to look at him. "Xemnas said that Xion and I are connected by 'Sora', but I don't know what that is! Am I the same as Xion? Am I nothing but a puppet, too!?"

He shook his head, not even bothering to try and disentangle himself from Roxas' grip. "You're different from Xion," he said quietly, and Roxas bared his teeth.

"Then-"

"Stop, Roxas," he interrupted. "I mean it; it's for your own good you don't know. The truth isn't going to make you feel any better."

"That isn't for you to decide!" Roxas shouted, letting go of Axel's coat and tangling his fingers in his own hair instead. "I want to know the truth about myself! Why am I here? Why can I use the Keyblade? Don't I have a right to know _who I am_?"

Roxas genuinely looked as though he was on the verge of tears, and that flutter of envy undulated through Axel's blood again. As cumbersome as emotions were, he would have done anything to _feel_ as guilty and contrite as he wanted to feel right then.

Roxas shook his head. "Axel, _please_ , I have to know," he said.

_That's just it,_ Axel thought, _I can't tell you. I don't even know where to begin._ And more than that, if he explained that he was Sora's Nobody, what if Roxas took the same path as Xion? What if he threw the Organization away, became a traitor? If Roxas left, Axel couldn't keep his promise to Xion. If he broke his promise, after everything he'd already done, there was nothing in all the worlds that could save him. He would never be forgiven, let alone be able to forgive him _self_.

The trouble was, he had a feeling (heh… a _feeling_ ) that it was already too late.

"Roxas, you've just got to trust me," he said, and Roxas looked up at him, betrayal and _pain_ in those big blue eyes of his for the most fleeting of moments, and then the anger, the sadness… everything just fled his expression, leaving behind the cold, unfeeling mask he had worn that first week they'd met. Somehow that hurt more than the look of betrayal.

"I can't," Roxas said, and Axel was sure his stomach had just dropped to his knees.

"Roxas-"

"How can you even _ask_ me to trust you anymore?" he said, shaking his head and taking a step back.

"Roxas, _wait-_ "

But Roxas just turned his back, a complete rejection of Axel's words. "If you won't give me the answers I'll go find someone who will," he said, "and _that's_ the person I'll trust."

Axel's voice died in his throat as he watched Roxas stalk down the hallway, the empty sound of his footsteps echoing off the walls. He reached out, like maybe he could grab the boy's shadow and drag him back; he racked his brain for the words, the right words, the words that would change things, _fix_ things, but no words came.

His arm fell back to his side as Roxas vanished down the hallway, and Axel sagged where he stood. No, this wasn't how it was supposed to go. This wasn't the way things were supposed to be!

… This _wasn't_ the way things would be. Axel had lost too much already to the darkness, he wasn't going to lose anything-or any _one_ -more. He was sick and tired of giving up the things he cared about because of someone else's agenda.

Closing his hands into fists, Axel turned on his heel and stormed down the hall. Maybe everything up until now had been a mistake, and maybe there was no way to fix all the mistakes he'd made, but he couldn't just not try. Axel was many things but a quitter was not one of them, and if it meant taking a few risks to save Roxas and Xion from the Organization's plans then so be it. He owed them that much.

His mind was going a million miles an hour now, lining up pieces and rearranging tasks that would need to be undertaken. No doubt Roxas was already blazing his way toward the exit; he didn't have much time to take care of things here before Roxas left for good. All he needed was one more shot-just one! He needed one last chance to make this look good, and if he blew it this time then they were all going down.

It was a good thing Axel wasn't prone to folding under pressure.

Hurrying down the stairs in the main foyer of the castle, he spied a familiar mane of blue hair and set his jaw.

"Saïx," he called, and the other man paused in his steps, turning to give him a long-suffering look.

"I'm a bit busy at the moment, Axel," he said tersely; "can this wait?"

"That's my line," Axel said, and Saïx lifted one eyebrow. Axel sort of flapped his hands in the air-a pleading gesture. "I'm saying, I just need a little more time," he said.

"Pardon?"

"I _know_ I could get her to come back if I just had a little more time."

Saïx's eyes narrowed and he folded his arms.

"All our plans are falling down around our ears, Roxas is destroying Dusks inside the castle hallways, and you're asking me to make allowances for a traitor?" he asked, and Axel's expression hardened.

"I'm giving it one last shot whether you approve the mission parameters or not," he said, and Saïx just sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Fine, do as you like," he said, turning, and Axel felt a grin slide, unbidden, across his lips. "It's not like you ever listen to reason anyway. Just make sure you get it right this time, or I won't be coming to your rescue."

"Like you've _ever_ come to my rescue," Axel muttered under his breath, and Saïx exhaled audibly.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a second traitor to deal with."

"You won't be able to stop him," Axel said, and Saïx paused, but didn't turn back around. Axel set his teeth. "Obstinacy and lies won't sway him, you know that, don't you?"

"I take it you know this from experience."

Axel flinched. "I figured I'd save you the trouble of trial and error," he replied. "There's no way you'll be able to do anything to stop him."

"What would you have me do, then?" Saïx's words were thin, quiet, contemplative, and Axel shook his head with a scoff.

"Just do as you like," he said, and then was gone with the _whoosh_ of a corridor before Saïx could respond.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas finally gets his answers and things begin to change...

Despite his own fatigue and general malaise over the past few weeks, Roxas had to admit that Saïx had hardly seemed much of a challenge to get past, though whether it was a testament to Saïx's weakness or his own abilities he couldn't say for certain. He had never fought with so much anger in his heart before (so to speak), had never swung his Keyblade with so much determination and frustration in his grip. Saïx had fallen easily, his claymore shattered along with his resolve, and Roxas had just kept right on walking and didn't even spare him a second glance.

He was a Nobody, wasn't he? Maybe he wasn't, after all. Maybe he was different-maybe he and Axel weren't so alike. He had believed once that Axel was the only one who really _got_ him, but obviously that wasn't the case now. If Axel really understood him, then he would have understood why it was so important for him to know the truth, right? Or was that asking too much of him? _Roxas_ wasn't even entirely certain why he had such a burning need to know the truth, so how could Axel have known? Maybe _no one_ understood him. Maybe he wasn't a Nobody, maybe he was just nothing at all. Maybe he really _was_ alone.

Maybe it didn't matter anyway.

There was a dark, heavy feeling coursing through him right now, one that drove his feet forward through the streets of the deserted city, away from the only place he'd ever been really able to call 'home.' That same feeling was what also made him ignore the familiar flash of red that flickered in the corner of his eye. Maybe Axel knew him better than he thought after all-he'd known right where to find him. There he was, leaning against a wall in that infuriating pose he always assumed, with his arms folded and his head down, his secrets guarded. Roxas scoffed, walking forward doggedly.

"So your mind's made up?"

Now that Axel had acknowledged him, Roxas' footsteps slowed to a halt. He shifted, turning his head halfway over his shoulder to speak to Axel without looking at him. "Why did the Keyblade choose me?" he asked. For a moment, he paused, some faint, fleeting part of him half-hoping Axel might finally give him the answers he wanted-no, _needed_. A brief silence later, though, he turned forward again, "I have to know."

"You can't turn on the Organization!" Axel's voice was gravelly, like he had to fight to even say the words. "You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!"

_They're already trying to destroy me_ , he couldn't help but think, _you said so yourself. It doesn't matter if I stay or go._ Why was Axel so determined that he stay? He wouldn't even tell him the truth! Why was he even here? Had he come to drag him back? To hand him to Xemnas personally? Maybe he'd been part of the plan from day one. Maybe they had never really been friends in the first place.

The idea made something in Roxas' chest heavy and cold, and he lowered his head.

"No one would miss me," he said finally. They couldn't feel anyway; it wasn't like anyone would be sad.

There was a long moment filled with nothing but a wistful wish for things to go back to the way they had been and a certainty that it would never happen, and then he started walking again, and he didn't look back.

"That's not _true_!" He heard Axel's voice echo off the high rainswept sides of the buildings around them. Roxas didn't stop. "... _I_ would."

Roxas' steps didn't slow, but something squelched in his stomach. He had never before heard his friend sound so _despondent_. Would he really miss him? Was that even possible for them? Axel had been the one to chide him for being worried when the others had been annihilated at Castle Oblivion... how was missing someone any different?

More lies, it was _always_ lies. He didn't know why Axel was so determined to keep him here, but it wasn't going to work. He couldn't trust him anymore.

"Roxas."

Axel's voice sounded further away now-how far had he walked?

"Roxas!"

Axel had to shout now to be heard, but it wasn't going to change anything.

" _Roxas_!"

Roxas was about to whirl on his heel and shout back that nothing Axel said would change his mind. He was about to just really give Axel what-for, whatever that meant, but as he shifted his weight to pivot sharply, he heard Axel's voice in the darkness once more.

"He's _you_!" Axel cried, and as he turned Roxas could see his friend's shoulders were hunched, his hands fisted tightly at his sides. He looked more desperate than he had ever seen him, and maybe that was the only reason he paused rather than shouting back.

_He's... me?_ Who _is me? I don't understand._

Roxas furrowed his brow and shook his head, but made no move to close the distance between them. This was a gap Axel was going to have to close himself.

"Sora," Axel said, his feet still rooted to the spot where he stood, almost as if he were afraid to approach him now. "Your connection to Sora... the reason you can wield the Keyblade..." Axel grimaced, like the words hurt to speak, and then shook his head fiercely. "He's _you_ , Roxas-you're two sides of the same coin."

Roxas still didn't understand.

Axel's bright eyes caught the neon lights overhead and flashed like fireflies in the darkness.

"You're _Sora's_ Nobody, Roxas."

"I'm..." His throat felt strange, like something too heavy was sitting in it. It made him pause.

_'Sora. He's the connection. He is what makes you and Xion a part of each other's lives. Just as he is the reason I placed Xion among our number.'_

Roxas' hands clenched into fists of their own volition. Something familiar and hot and prickling began to rise from his chest. He was Sora's Nobody. Sora was the reason for everything. If it weren't for Sora...

The prickling heat broke through whatever was sitting in Roxas' throat and suddenly he could speak again.

"Is that why I matter?" he found himself saying. His voice grew louder, harsher, with each word. "Is that why me and Xion are like this? What makes _him_ so important? Why...?!"

Axel's hands were suddenly on Roxas' shoulders and he jumped, startled. He hadn't even seen Axel _move_. Snapping his chin up to give him a wild, desperate look, Roxas shook his head, his face pulled tight into a grimace.

"If Sora's so important, then why do Xion and I exist at all?" he cried, and Axel's grip on his shoulders tightened.

"Roxas, stop," he said with a sigh. There was something defeated in Axel's posture. "Look, I told you knowing the truth wouldn't change anything, wouldn't make it any better." He let go of him and sort of flapped his arms helplessly at his sides. "I'm not sure what happened to make you and Xion... the way you are," he said. "It's kind of unprecedented for a Nobody and their Other to both exist at the same time anyway, so far as I know, but..." He sighed, then shrugged one shoulder. "So... yes, that's why you mattered to the Organization," he admitted. "They need the Keyblade to capture the hearts to fill up Kingdom Hearts, and they knew Sora would never cooperate, so they collected you and made Xion in the hopes of having a Keyblade they would manipulate to their own ends."

Roxas wanted to punch something, some _one_ , more than anything right now. He wanted to scream and scream and scream until his throat was raw and his voice was gone and there was nothing left. _It's not fair,_ he thought, and it repeated in his head relentlessly. His chest was hot and heavy and he could hear the blood pounding in his ears and he didn't know why. He didn't know what this feeling ( _ha_!) was, and he understood even less why Axel still stood there, saying these things. He didn't want to tell him _anything_ before. What had changed?

_It's not fair. It's not fair. It's not -_

"Well, now _you've_ gotten what you wanted." The words tumbled out of his mouth, vindictive and angry and cold, before he really thought about it. "I hope you're happy."

Roxas turned to leave. He didn't know what he wanted to do, but he knew he couldn't stand being here with Axel anymore.

"What I...?" Axel's hand caught him by the shoulder, arresting his movement. "Roxas, you can't honestly think I _wanted_ any of this."

Roxas had to fight the overwhelming urge to just _hiss_ at him.

"Well you sure didn't do anything to _stop_ it!" he snarled. "You knew all along what I was here for, didn't you? You knew from day one just who I was, and you did nothing but play along!"

"Roxas-"

"You just came along for the ride-you let me and Xion be... be _used_! Like we're just some kind of _tools_!"

"Roxas, would you _liste_ -"

"Were you _ordered_ to become my best friend?"

Axel's hands were suddenly on both sides of Roxas' head, forcing him to look up at him, and his eyes were angry and turbulent and... somehow sadder than Roxas expected.

"Dammit, Roxas, would you _shut up_ for a second and _listen_ to me?" he said, and Roxas swallowed hard, his breath shaking and his pulse pounding in his throat. "Look, I know you're angry, even if I can't understand how you manage," Axel said, "but you didn't let me finish."

Roxas mustered the fiercest glare he could manage and wrenched himself free of Axel's grip.

"So finish," he spat.

"You and Xion... the Organization only wanted you for your Keyblades," he said. "That's why you mattered to them..." There was a beat of silence, and then he shook his head. "But that isn't why you matter to _me_ , okay? You and Xion aren't just shadows or leftovers so far as I'm concerned. Maybe things started out that way, and... maybe I'm an idiot for that, but nobody _ordered_ me to get to know you. Nobody _ordered_ me to become your friend." He flapped his arms again, like he didn't know what to do with them. "And... nobody ordered me to come after you, either. Or to tell you the truth. In fact they kind of told me _not_ to, so..."

Roxas' eyes were itchy and it felt like something was trying to escape from them. "So... What?" he finally managed, and his voice sounded strange and choked, too, even though he didn't want it to. Suddenly that choked-up feeling he'd had back when he had thought Axel had been lost in Castle Oblivion was back, squeezing tight like fingers around his throat.

Axel just looked at him a moment before sighing, "So… I guess I'm a traitor now too," he said, "because you two are more important than orders and missions and… whatever else the Organization thought was all you were good for. You and Xion, you're my best friends, remember?"

His throat constricted even further.

Xion…

The edges of his vision blurred. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to will the sensation away. It was only when he felt like he could speak without without something else escaping his mouth that he finally croaked the first thing that came to mind. Not about what Axel had just told him. He couldn't handle thinking about it right now. Something else.

"Why did you let her go?" If now was a time for truth and answers, then maybe…

There was another moment's silence before Axel finally spoke. "I didn't want to," he said. "I tried to stop her-I knew what she was and what would happen if she stayed, but I couldn't stand to send her away either…" He shook his head. "She asked me to let her go, though."

"Why? Why would she want to leave us again?!"

"Because-!" Axel's voice caught in his throat; he seemed to be struggling with his words again. "Because she wanted to protect you."

"From what?"

"From herself."

The idea itself seemed so ridiculous that his eyes snapped open and he stared up at Axel, dumbfounded. Why would she want to protect him from herself? Why would she be doing anything that might hurt him at all? Xion was his (their?) best friend!

"Look… I told you she was dangerous, remember?" Axel averted his eyes briefly, then looked back at him. "Replicas can absorb power from a source. It's not something she could control though, and when you started getting weaker…" He shrugged helplessly. "It didn't take a genius to put two and two together."

"And that's why she left." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah." Axel's voice sounded as empty as Roxas' insides felt. "That's why she left."

Roxas drew a shuddering breath and then looked up at Axel, something welling up painfully in his chest.

"But... how did this all _happen_?"

Axel shook his head.

"Roxas, listen, we can talk about this later-"

Roxas clenched his fists. "No, we can talk about this _now_ ," he said fiercely. "You've kept me waiting long eno-"

"This is _more important_ , Roxas," Axel interrupted, raising his voice, and Roxas quieted only because there was something truly urgent in Axel's tone. "I made a promise," he said, and Roxas arched one eyebrow. "A promise to Xion."

"To Xion?" Roxas shook his head. "I don't understand."

"I promised I'd..." His voice failed him suddenly and that slump was back in his posture, and Roxas thought it rather looked like he was trying to carry a backpack that was too heavy for him. "That I'd protect you," he concluded after a long pause, his words almost too quiet to hear.

" _Protect_ me?" Roxas couldn't help but sound a cross between confused and incredulous, "Why does she want me protected?"

Almost unbidden, a memory surfaced-one of his own-with him telling her it was funny to see her worrying about him, and her response that she worried about him all the time. Of all the times to remember something like that…

"Because…" Axel explained, and there was something in his voice that cut through the hot, tight feeling in his chest. "You've already seen some of the things they're willing to do to get rid of one of you and… she's not even going to be able to be herself for very long at this rate."

"What does that mean?" Roxas asked sharply. Unable to be herself? That made no sense! "You told me I was the one who wouldn't be me anymore."

"And if she continues to absorb your powers, your memories, she won't be _Xion_ for much longer," Axel said. "You both fulfill the same purpose-the Organization didn't _need_ the both of you." He ground the heel of one hand into his eye socket, like he had a sudden headache. "You're still not seeing the bigger picture, are you?"

Roxas shook his head-this was too much. "I don't understand," he said, holding his head in his hands. The hot feeling suddenly turned cold. Roxas was a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one of them.

_It was only a matter of time before somebody had to break the mirror._

_You mean destroy her._

"Axel…" And now there was something desperate in his voice now too, "what's going to happen to her?"

Axel shook his head fiercely.

"Nothing, if I've got any say in it," he replied, and Roxas frowned.

Wait, hadn't Axel said she was dangerous? Why would he suddenly pipe up in her defense? Roxas' brow crinkled in confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked, and then felt kind of stupid. He always seemed to be asking what everyone meant-why couldn't he just _understand_ things? Why was this so difficult?

Axel bent forward and put his hands on Roxas' shoulders again, but the desperation was gone now, replaced with determination. In that moment Roxas thought to himself that Axel looked very strong, not at all like the hopeless, disconsolate man he had seemed only moments before.

"I mean we have to stop her."

"Stop her?" Roxas' eyes were wide. "Stop her from what?"

Axel opened his mouth to respond, then hesitated. He gave Roxas an uncertain look, then asked in a thin voice, "Can you trust me?" A shake of his head and he continued, "I didn't want to lie. I really thought it was what was best for you-I knew that knowing the truth would only breed more questions... questions I _don't_ know the answers to." He released Roxas' shoulders. "I knew you would leave," he said, "and I couldn't keep my promise if you were gone, but... if we do this together, if you can trust me again, even just long enough to do this, I think maybe I can keep my promise and we can help Xion, too."

Roxas frowned. As much as Axel had essentially spilled all those answers he'd been keeping to himself this whole time, it didn't feel like he could just... trust him again, just like that. Wasn't this all too little too late? On the other hand, it sounded like Xion was in trouble, and honestly needed their help. Axel knew more about the situation than he did, he couldn't deny that. He didn't actually think he could help her by himself-was it worth it to risk her life just because he hesitated to put his faith in Axel now?

Axel had lied, and Axel had done some awful things, but even Roxas couldn't deny that Axel had never done anything to deliberately put either of them in danger. He had always had their backs, even if he hadn't understood the older Nobody's actions at the time.

"All right," he said finally. "But... this doesn't just make everything okay, got it? You have to tell me what's going on."

For a moment, it felt like Axel was scrutinizing him, then he nodded.

"Kid, if we all make it out of this alive, I'll tell you anything you want to know."

Well, that really hadn't gone the way Roxas had expected at all. He'd stormed out of the castle thinking he would never look back, never see Axel again, never go _home_ again… and here he was calling a truce-if only a temporary one. Was this wise? Was this the right thing to do? He looked up at Axel once more and could see that Axel was… Axel was _sorry_! He was a bit surprised to see it so blatantly on his face, but that was an expression of contrition if Roxas knew one at all. If Axel was sorry enough to really look the part, then maybe there was still something worth saving here after all.

In any case, saving Xion came first at this point. Roxas nodded firmly.

"All right, let's go," he said, turning back toward to the deserted streets of the World that Never Was. Even if he wasn't sure he could trust Axel to be _honest_ , he trusted Axel not to hurt him, not to hurt Xion. Even when he'd knocked her out and brought her back to the castle, he had done it to _help_ her, right? Xion had assured him of that herself.

He watched, his steps slowing, as Axel outstripped him and waved a hand to open a portal.

"You know where she is?" he asked, and Axel's expression was suddenly shadowed with sheepishness.

"Yeah, I think so," he said with a sigh. "That's… that's why I came after you; if you wouldn't come with me, I'd have to go get her myself; you never would have found her in time on your own." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I actually kind of expected you to just punch me in the jaw and keep walking, but I wanted to give it one last shot."

Roxas couldn't quite muster a tired smile, but something in him wanted to. Axel had his flaws, but this time it seemed he really _did_ have their best interests in mind. Roxas reached out and gave Axel's sleeve a tug then moved through the opening into the corridor beyond.

"Let's get Xion first," he said as Axel closed the portal behind them, "and I'll think about punching you in the jaw later."

Funny the way you didn't realize you missed a familiar sound until you noticed you hadn't heard it in a while: Axel's laughter was hollow in the shifting blue halls between worlds, but it was welcome all the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first nine or so chapters of the fic are ready or almost ready, but will be released over time to try to preserve the buffer as long as possible. We'll see how things go from there after that. 
> 
> Any and all feedback is appreciated! Thank you so much!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xion finds that her little heart to heart with Naminé isn't going to be as private as she had hoped.

Fingers twisting into the fabric of her coat, Xion listened quietly as Naminé spoke. She had known before she'd even come here that she was in a precarious sort of situation and that her future was likely grim, but nothing could have fully prepared her for the truth.

"You're made of Sora's memories. Once I pull them apart to put them back, there won't be a 'Xion' to remember." Naminé shook her head then, her eyes lowering to her hands in her lap, though it did nothing to conceal the anguish within them. "I can't save you, Xion, not even a memory."

Xion merely bowed her head. It was no more or less than she had expected, really, so why did it still feel like a punch in the stomach? It hurt, stung, to know there really wasn't even anything _Naminé_ could do. 

She couldn't let this crush her resolve. She had to keep her head now, had to quash this beneath a layer of determination and calm. It was all right. It was okay. So long as she went back where she belonged, so long as she didn't kill Roxas simply by _existing_ , it would be all right.

"I know," she said, finally lifting her head. "It's okay. I'm ready. That's... that's why I'm here."

She paused then. Something had been bothering her ever since she'd discovered the real reason she'd been made: if she had been built to absorb memories, and the absorption of Sora's memories had been affecting _Roxas_ , to the point of potentially destroying him, then that probably meant something she really didn't want to think about. She knew who Roxas was and had no illusions of trying to fool herself.

"He... he has to go back too, doesn't he? Roxas," she said, something thick and difficult to swallow in her throat.

Naminé hesitated, then nodded. Xion felt something shatter within her. So was it really all for nothing? What she was doing? Her sacrifice, everyone forgetting her... Would it truly change nothing? If Roxas was still doomed to return to Sora, then escaping the fate of being absorbed by her now was only delaying the inevitable!

Useless. Hopeless. Pointless. Everything. All of it.

She still had to do it, though--she couldn't _not_. The lump in her throat was almost painful.

"He's not ready," she said calmly, her voice quivering only the slightest bit. _He may never be ready._ What more could she do, though? She couldn't bear the thought of destroying Roxas, even if his destruction was unavoidable in the long run.

Naminé shook her head. "He doesn't feel Sora yet," she said by way of agreeing, "but he will."

Xion met the other girl's bright blue eyes--the same blue as her own. Was it really hopeless? she wanted to ask. Was there really no other way? The questions died on her tongue before she could ask, though; Naminé's eyes answered them without words.

"Please," she said, trying to swallow before continuing, "please look after him until he does, until he understands. You're... you're not alone. I've asked someone else. But..." She couldn't continue; she closed her mouth abruptly.

There was a pause as Naminé seemed to consider this request, then finally she nodded. "I will," she said, and Xion's gaze fell to her lap again, relief and sadness coursing in equal parts through her.

And then Naminé's voice broke the silence again, and Xion looked up. "Are you ready to go see Sora?" the blond girl asked, and Xion took a deep breath.

_Was_ she ready? She wasn't sure she would ever really be ready, but this was as ready as she was ever going to get.

"I think you're forgetting something very important here," a voice piped up suddenly, and Xion felt everything behind her sternum seize up. She turned in time to see a portal open, two familiar shapes emerging from the whorling darkness. "You neglected to get a second opinion, Xion."

_No. No, not now, not here, not when I'm so close to making things right._

Axel's eyes were narrow, somehow hurt, and Xion couldn't quite figure out why. He understood, didn't he? He didn't want Roxas to be in danger anymore either, right? Why did he look so upset with her? Didn't he know this was what had to be done?

But most importantly, she realized, eyes darting from Axel to Roxas and back, why were they _both_ here?

No, they shouldn't be here. They _couldn't_ be! This was _why_ she hadn't wanted Roxas to know: because he wouldn't understand, and because with him there, gazing at her with a look of determination and solidarity, would she lose that resolve to save him?

She tried to swallow the lump in her throat to no avail. "Why... why are you here?"

_Why are you not just letting me do this?_

"Why do you _think_ we're here?" Axel asked, shaking his head. "You really thought your best friends were just going to stand by and let you destroy yourself?"

_But that's what has to be done!_ she thought wretchedly.

"Don't try and stop me," she said firmly, turning away and looking at Naminé again, lest every anguished twitch of her expression betray her, telltale cracks in the numb calm she'd built up. _There is no place for me here. There is no world where all three of us can be together safely. Just let me fade away and it won't even hurt once it's done._

She searched for Naminé's gaze, but her wide eyes were focused beyond her, presumably at Axel. Naminé seemed stunned for some reason.

"Why do you look so startled, Naminé?" he asked, his words as icy as his eyes. "You look like you've seen a ghost! I know it's been a while, but I thought you at least had my face memorized."

"I thought you were dead," she said quietly. "I thought _everyone_ at Castle Oblivion had been eliminated."

He sighed and shook his head. "Man, you and Roxas are a real pair," he grumbled, folding his arms; "don't you guys have any faith in my abilities?"

A moment later, Xion felt Axel's hand on her shoulder and she all but flinched away, as if his very touch had burned her.

"So?" His words floated past her, directed at Naminé, and Axel's fingers squeezed her shoulder, though whether it was an attempt at reassurance or a warning to stay where she was, Xion wasn't certain.

"'So'?" Naminé seemed to recover her composure, echoing Axel's words quietly.

"You're really giving up that easily?" he asked, and Naminé looked startled. Axel scoffed. "Yeah, we heard enough to know what you're planning," he said, "and you of all people, Naminé, I thought you were made of sterner stuff."

Xion tensed. Why wouldn't he let this go? He knew it was the only course for them. "This was _my_ idea," she said sullenly to the table, and Axel clicked his tongue.

"And that's something I'll scold you for later," he assured her, "but for the moment I want to know why Naminé was so quick to dismiss her own abilities."

For the first time since Xion had sat down, Naminé looked outright abashed. She stared down at her hands folded in her lap.

Finally, she said quietly, "DiZ would never allow the time I need to untangle their memories."

Xion's ears felt funny, almost numb, and a sort of sense of unreality settled over her as her eyes widened.

"It..." Even her _voice_ sounded strange. "It's not... I thought it was useless?"

Naminé seemed torn. "It _is_ , unless..." At that she stopped suddenly, as if she didn't want to give them any further hope.

"Hey!" Roxas' voice broke through the awkward silence testily, making Xion jump. "I still don't even know what's going on here!"

Axel's fingers tightened around her shoulder again, and this time Xion was confident it was more out of exasperation than anything else. He didn't address Roxas' confusion and instead continued speaking to Naminé.

"DiZ," he said, his voice lifting a bit but not quite enough to be a question. "That cloaked weirdo from Castle Oblivion? Who _cares_ what he thinks?"

His hand lifted from her shoulder then and Xion glanced up in time to see him spread his hands out to either side, palms up--a gesture of fluster and impatience. She watched his hands a moment, remembering absently how he always spoke with them in such an animated way. It was nostalgic. Somehow those good old days felt infinitely far from them now.

"He's the only reason I survived," Naminé insisted by way of explanation. "I can't defy him."

"Wrong again," Axel said, rolling his eyes. " _I'm_ the reason you survived--without my help you would have stayed locked up in that ivory cage under Marluxia's thumb. 'Least 'til Sora destroyed him, anyway." His voice was ragged, like he'd been growling or coughing a lot; he sounded strained and Xion couldn't quite determine why. "I thought you would have done better with your second chance, to avoid being someone's pawn."

"I had no choice," she said to the table, and Axel made a sibilant noise.

"You _always_ have a choice."

Maybe that was why he sounded so strained, Xion thought then, watching Naminé's face twist with discomfort. Axel was being really harsh, and that wasn't like him. He had been stern and serious when he'd shown them the ropes of missions, and he certainly had no qualms about telling people what he really thought about any given situation, but he was rarely _mean_. Why did this have him so agitated, to the point of such acrid words? Didn't he know what the alternative was?

"Axel..." her voice was hesitant. Nothing felt right anymore. Everything that she had been so sure about had suddenly been thrown into question. and now it felt like the whole plan was spiraling out of control. "Axel, please."

Both Roxas and Axel let out impatient noises, the latter shaking his head sharply.

"'Please'?" He gave her an incredulous look. "That's _my_ line."

Xion's eyes widened at that. Wait, hadn't he been angry? Why did he suddenly look so sad? She didn't have time to search his eyes before they swam back to Naminé though.

Naminé finally glanced down and away from Axel's accusing gaze. "It's not that simple. He has Sora and his friends too. And there's still..."

"Still _what_ , Naminé?" Axel demanded, something sharp and desperate in his tone. "Don't you see what you're doing? You're giving the Organization exactly what it wants. If Xion's out of the way then they can focus on Roxas without worrying she'll destroy him--they're _afraid_ of her!"

Xion was surprised by that. The Organization was afraid of her? Was it because of what she _was_? They had _created_ her--had they truly not known of the fatal flaw in her makeup? Or had they simply hoped they would be able to control her better, to use her as the puppet she was instead of having to deal with her growing a personality and free will?

"Xion is the wrench in their gears," Axel said, "and I say we let her stay that way, DiZ be damned."

Xion hung her head. Was that really all she was? A wrench, a tool? Even to Axel? She jumped when she felt his hand again, this time on top of her head. Like old times. She dared not move beneath the weight of it, though, until he spoke again.

"And moreover, more than wanting to deny them what they want... Xion's my friend-- _our_ friend. And I'm pretty sure I speak for Roxas too when I say we're not inclined to give her up without a fight."

"No way!" Roxas said with conviction. He still sounded confused, but the frustration seemed more aimed at the apparent hopelessness of the situation rather than his own ignorance of the details. He sounded as upset as Axel did.

She swallowed, a weird pressure around the edges of her eyes, though they remained dry. She hadn't wanted this. She didn't want to feel the tiny curls of hope blooming in her chest, the desire to rage and fight against her fate. When she'd found out what was happening, on top of everything she knew, she had just wanted to _finish_ this, to go back to where she belonged. She had wanted to stop hurting the others by existing; she hadn't wanted them to fight for this, for _her_.

Why couldn't they just let her go like they were supposed to? Her shoulders were quaking and she just couldn't make them stop.

"But... but what about Roxas?" her voice was quiet. "If I don't disappear, then he'll..."

"H-hey!" Roxas protested. "Don't just make this all about me! I don't want _you_ to disappear either!"

Choking on the lump still in her throat, Xion buried her face in her hands.

Axel's hand was still on her head, heavy and warm, and she just couldn't believe this was happening. They were supposed to let her go. They were supposed to _forget_ her! How could they do this, how could they just show up and be willing to fight for her, knowing what she was? Knowing what she could do?

"How much time are we talking, Naminé?" Axel asked. "To the Underworld with DiZ, for all I care--can you save Xion?"

"I told you, it would take too lo--"

" _Can_ you?" he interrupted sharply. "Stop worrying about what DiZ thinks, what DiZ wants, and just tell me, Naminé: can you save my friend or not?"

Xion couldn't look at her, couldn't look at anyone. There was a long pause of silence so thick she could have shattered it with her Keyblade, and then she heard Naminé sigh.

"It's possible," she said, an unvoiced 'but' in her tone. "It could take months, maybe even years before everything was sorted out. As for you, Roxas..." She inclined her head in his direction. "I think that the problem is because she's absorbing Sora's memories through you, she's absorbing what makes makes you _you_. I would need to find a way to stop that, in order to continue, or we'll have to find another method eventually, because anything I do probably wouldn't be permanent. And there's no way I can do it here, not with DiZ."

"Then... then come with us!" Roxas said, and Xion whipped her head around to look at him as he lurched forward and half-spilled his hands onto the white table, as if he'd tripped over his own words.

"Wait, what?" Axel scratched his head. "Where are we going?"

"Does it matter?" Roxas sounded incensed, looking from Naminé to Xion to Axel. "We can't stay with the Organization--they'll destroy us. Especially now."

"Yeah, you blowing through all the Dusks in the halls is kind of grounds for eviction," Axel said, and Roxas' face darkened briefly. Axel lifted his hands placatingly then. "All right, all right, too soon, I get it; I was just trying to lighten the mood."

"Don't think you're off the hook that easy," Roxas said in a warning tone, and Axel deflated a bit as the boy turned back to Naminé.

"So, come with us," he said, and then turned toward Xion. "She can help you, Xion. You don't have to do this. If we take her away from this DiZ person and give her the time she needs, she can fix everything!"

Naminé didn't look so sure she deserved Roxas' vote of confidence, but Xion was more taken aback by how quickly Roxas had just accepted this. Hadn't he figured out how dangerous she was to him? Was she absorbing the very threads and fibers that held him together even as they spoke? He had never even _met_ Naminé before and he was prepared to put his fate in her hands?

She was fighting a losing battle and she knew it and she didn't know how to feel about that. She didn't know how to feel about _anything_ anymore.

Could it really be possible? Could she really be allowed to exist, to be with her friends a while longer? But she was a _part_ of Sora, wasn't she? Did she truly dare to hope to exist apart _from_ him?

She turned to Namine. "Will... will it work?"

Naminé hesitated for a moment, then smiled helplessly. "Given enough time, I believe it will." She folded her hands over her chest then. "I get the feeling Sora would've wanted it this way, anyway."

Xion swallowed. She turned to look at Axel and Roxas. "But what about Kingdom Hearts? We can't let Xemnas have it. We _can't_."

Axel shook his head, pointing from her to Roxas.

"Without you two and those fancy Keyblades of yours, he won't _get_ it," he said. "Remember: _I_ sure can't use a Keyblade... me, I could kill as many Heartless as I wanted to and they'd all just come back--the hearts would just recoalesce into another Heartless somewhere. If you guys aren't the ones to take them out, Xemnas doesn't _get_ the hearts."

He turned to Naminé again then, folding his arms and looking thoughtful.

"Well, I'm not sure where we're apparently going," he said, "and I'm not sure what'll happen when we get there, but... you're welcome to tag along."

That numb sense of unreality was still strong and getting stronger all the while. Was this really happening? "Is it really going to be okay?" Her voice was quiet; she hardly dared to believe it.

Roxas lifted a hand, reaching over and covering hers with his own and the pressure behind her eyes sharply increased in intensity. The gesture was so much like what he'd done in that one dream she'd had; the expression his face as she looked at her was familiar for the same reason. They had wanted her to come back with them then, her two best friends... had the dream been trying to tell her this was truly the right path to take after all?

"Come on, Xion," Roxas said, his voice full of warmth, "let's go."

Anything else anyone might have said was lost then, for at that moment the door flew open and a tall figure draped in a dark mantle came storming into the room like a hurricane. She had had the unpleasant privilege of meeting DiZ upon her arrival at the mansion, and the only thing she could think at his advent was, _Not now! Not when I finally have a chance!_

"Naminé, are you quite done talking with that puppet yet?" he demanded, his voice harsh and exasperated. "We don't have time for--" He abruptly fell silent then, catching sight of the two extra people in the room. His face darkened and one eye twitched. "What is going on here? I demand an explanation!"

Axel folded his arms over his chest and popped one hip, wearing what Xion liked to call his 'did someone cast Confuse on you?' face.

"You demand?" He scoffed. "Is that so~? You know, I find that people are a lot more receptive to invasive lines of questioning when you ask nicely." And then he shifted and his hand was on top of her head again, and Xion sort of jumped, startled by the sudden contact. "And I'd _appreciate_ it if you wouldn't call my friend here a puppet," he added, something dangerous in his voice; "really, you'll hurt someone's _feelings_ with that sort of talk."

DiZ snorted with derision. "You speak as though you have them in the first place."

Axel made an exaggerated show of rolling his eyes.

"It's called _sarcasm_ , old man, look it up sometime."

DiZ's gaze swept the room again, and this time fell on the person standing right next to her. "Roxas," he said quietly. There was a sort of amazement in his voice and a look on his face Xion didn't like.

Something in her grew stern and angry and she thrust a hand out in front of her friend, between him and the doorway. "Leave them alone. I already made the choice to come here myself, so just leave them be."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that," DiZ retorted, not sounding sorry in the slightest, "not with all the pieces finally in place."

"Pieces?" Roxas sounded indignant, "What's he even--"

"DiZ , please," Naminé pleaded, "just let me--"

"Enough of this foolishness!" DiZ cut them off with a wave of his hand. "Naminé, you must incapacitate them now while we have the opportunity."

"Sorry," Axel said, spreading his arms and summoning his chakrams with a burst of heat and smoke, "but I'm afraid these 'pieces' aren't willing to play by the rules of your game anymore."

"Axel, please, don't--"

He shot Naminé a warning look and she hushed immediately, and as he jerked his chin in a beckoning gesture she sort of shrank into her chair.

"You don't wanna be under this bastard's thumb anymore, do you?" he asked, gesturing at DiZ with one of his weapons. DiZ looked outraged, his gold-orange eyes ablaze, and though Naminé seemed unable to lift her head to acknowledge the question, she shook her head slowly. "Then go. Go with Xion and Roxas," he said; "I'll keep grandpa occupied."

"But, Axel we can't just leave you here!" Xion said sharply, getting to her feet. She had come here with the intent of returning to Sora, of saving Roxas, of setting things _right_ again--how could she let her _other_ best friend take this risk for her? "We're not going without you!"

He grinned at her over his shoulder and then leveled his chakram at DiZ's face without even looking at the man. "I'll catch up," he said to Xion with a wink.

"Promise?" Xion blurted, and then felt a bit childish.

Axel's smile was warm then. "Cross my heart."

Naminé sat up a bit straighter then, something stern, if a little uncertain, in her eyes. "DiZ has no power here," she said, and the mantled man blustered a bit at her betrayal. "His strength lies in manipulating and controlling people, but... but he can't hurt you here!"

Axel grinned a predatory grin. "You don't say~?"

DiZ took a halting half-step backward, gripping the edge of his cloak like perhaps it would shield him from the glint in Axel's eyes. Without tearing his gaze from DiZ, Axel gestured with the chakram that wasn't pointed at the man.

"Go," he said sternly.

"But where?" Roxas's voice was anxious. "He's not the only person we need to avoid..."

That was right, where were they supposed to go? There was no place in this life for creatures like them anyway--where would they be safe?

"I know just the place," Axel said. "Roxas, you won a big game of cards there once, remember?"

Cards? What? What was he talking about? Xion turned to give Roxas a perplexed frown. Roxas looked thoughtful for a moment, then something seemed to click and he grabbed Xion's arm with one hand and beckoned to Naminé with the other. He summoned a corridor and urged Naminé to step through it. She lingered a moment by the mouth, as if too afraid to venture in alone, and Roxas took the pause to turn back to Axel.

"Y-you better come," Roxas said to Axel, his brow drawn together sternly. "I still haven't forgiven you; there's still a lot I wanna say to you."

"I promised, didn't I?" he said without meeting their eyes--his gaze was still focused on DiZ. "I always keep my promises, Roxas. You can say all you want when I find you guys later."

Roxas grimaced but gave a shaky nod, tugging on Xion's arm, but she stood firm for a moment, eyes still wide and terrified, locked on Axel. Even if what Naminé had said was true, and DiZ couldn't hurt him, what was he going to do? What was going to happen? Why had everything changed so quickly?

And then the moment of fear passed and she let herself be tugged into the corridor, Naminé trailing close behind and, much further away, DiZ uttering a furious exclamation as it closed. Her movements were stiff, clumsy, her body seemingly unable to function properly while her mind was so preoccupied. Roxas' grip on her wrist was firm as he pulled her along and she sort of half-stumbled after him, Naminé's figure barely registering in her peripheral vision.

What was going to happen to them now? Had she just made traitors of Roxas and Axel as well? She'd been trying to _save_ them and she had somehow only dragged them in deeper. Her hands trembled as she clenched them into fists. She closed her eyes against the pressure still there.

What had she gotten them all into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, everyone! Questions? Comments? We love feedback, so please don't hesitate to drop a note!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Axel talks to a couple of jerks then helps the kids lay the foundation of what they're going to do for the immediate future.

He waited until he heard the corridor whisper closed behind him and then Axel gave DiZ a long, feline grin. 

"Well now," he said, keeping one of his weapons leveled at DiZ's throat, "I think it's time we had a little chat."

DiZ's eyes narrowed dangerously and his grip around the edge of his cloak tightened. "I do not owe you any sort of explanation, _Nobody_ ," he spat. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Without Naminé I have no hope of awakening Sora and his friends." 

"Cry me a river," Axel replied with a roll of his eyes. "Sorry, I'm fresh out of sympathy." His grin widened a bit. "But I guess you already knew that, didn't you?" 

"And I suppose the safety of the worlds means nothing to you?" DiZ retorted furiously. "The damage the Organization could cause if left unchecked as they have been is unprecedented. But then again, I suppose you would not trouble yourself with such thoughts, being among their number." 

Axel gave DiZ a slightly incredulous look. Was this old coot for real? 

"In case you hadn't noticed, gramps, I wasn't here for the _Organization's_ benefit," he said tersely. "I prefer to keep my social life separate from work, thanks; Xion's my _friend_ before she's my coworker." Sure, it hadn't started out that way, but things changed, and boy had they. "The fact that the Organization wants her for its own purposes has nothing to do with me; I'm not here on orders." 

His words seemed to have little effect beyond maybe making DiZ bristle a bit more than he was already. "Be that as it may, that boy is the only hope of stopping the Organization for good and halting the damage they have wrought among the worlds and the residents of them. And you would disregard that for those who have no right to exist!" 

Now it was Axel's turn to bristle, squaring his shoulders and lowering his chakrams to his sides before dismissing them. 

"You know, you're really starting to get on my nerves," he said, his voice low and steely. "Who do you think you are, anyway? Who are you to decide who does and does not have the right to exist?" 

DiZ drew himself up to his full height. "I am a servant of the worlds, nothing more, nothing less. Which is more than can be said about you and your so-called 'friends.' As if a Nobody could feel the emotions involved in such attachments." 

"A servant?" Axel laughed derisively through his nose. Seriously, was this guy for real? "You don't say~? And precisely what purpose _do_ you serve, then?" 

Before DiZ could respond, Axel closed the distance between them, almost too fast for the eye to follow and surely too fast for DiZ to properly react. Tangling one hand in the scarf around DiZ's neck, he gave it a pointed tug, bringing their faces a bit closer. He narrowed his eyes pointedly, but didn't raise his other hand. He didn't need to strike him; DiZ wasn't worth that. 

"What if I think you're the one without the right to exist?" he posited. "You think you're better than me, but I'm not the one using a bunch of kids for his own self-righteous delusions of grandeur. You really think you can save the worlds?" 

He released the scarf quickly, shoving DiZ backward with enough force to nudge him off-balance, but not enough to knock him down. Axel had his share of arrogance, but this guy's hubris was enough to make him look _humble_. 

He sneered then, lifting his chin defiantly. 

"You talk about emotion, compassion, friendship, like _I'm_ the one who can't possibly understand it," he said, "but you're the heartless one, in my book. You're no better than Xemnas." 

DiZ's eyes widened and for a moment he looked utterly livid. At last he spat out, "This is not the end of this matter, _Nobody_. I assure you." And then, as if to make a point, there was a swirl of shadow at his feet, one that Axel recognized easily enough. So this guy had control over darkness corridors too? 

He wasn't getting away that easily, though, not yet. Axel wasn't sure just how adept DiZ might have been with the corridors, and he wanted to make damn sure the kids had time to get to Wonderland and hide. 

"Not so fast, DiZ," he said, snapping a hand out to snag the tail of his stupid scarf and giving it a sharp tug. He clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "Really, old man, you should rethink your costume if you're going to agitate a trained assassin." Giving the scarf another tug, more forceful this time, Axel grinned when DiZ gasped in alarm as he was pulled off-balance and stumbled backward. "All those extra bits of fabric flapping about, why you're just crying to get tangled up in something unpleasant. Come on, be a little more aware of your potential wardrobe malfunctions," he chided, winding the scarf around his hand and reeling DiZ in like a fish. He was probably having a little more fun with this than was entirely necessary, but Axel hadn't really had a chance to pick on anyone in a while. "Tell me something," he said then, tightening his fist in the fabric when DiZ was a mere 18 inches away from him, craning his neck to peer indignantly at Axel over his shoulder. Axel grinned predatorily. "How exactly do you know so much about Roxas and Xion anyway? Have you been _spying_ on us at the Organization?" 

He knew the original imposter had been Riku, of course, but they hadn't actually considered the possibility of a second. He certainly wasn't going to bring the kids back to HQ, but if he could bring back a red herring instead it would certainly look good in his file. 

DiZ scoffed--at least as well as he could with Axel having a tight hold of the scarf wound about his neck, "Do you _really_ think I would disclose such information?" 

"I dunno, you've done a fairly good job of convincing me you're a narrow-minded idiot so far," Axel said, his fingers still tangled in the scarf. "I was hoping you might prove it." 

At this point it was more just to aggravate DiZ than anything else; stopping him from following the kids was certainly a priority, but doing it this way was more for his own entertainment than efficiency: what good was it if he couldn't make DiZ squirm a bit? 

He gave the scarf another pointed tug. "Tell me one thing, _DiZ_ \--the heck kind of name is that, anyway?--but what _exactly_ did you think you were going to do with Roxas and Xion, hm?" 

Axel didn't expect a straight answer, but DiZ was pretty uncomfortable right now, and in Axel's experience uncomfortable people tended to let things slip unintentionally. 

"I know you're looking to wake up Mr. Save-The-Worlds, but it's not like you can just mash the kids together and hope Sora takes on the properties of a sponge, you know?" 

"I highly doubt you would understand the details," DiZ replied coldly. "The connection between data and memories is no simple matter." 

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Data? What the hell did that have to do with anything? Roxas wasn't a damn computer program, and while Xion's very existence was incumbent on Sora's memories it wasn't like they could just put them on a boot-disc for her or something. 

"The hell are you on about?" he asked carefully, admittedly curious now. "I know the brain isn't that unlike a computer, but it's not as simple as making a backup copy of your memories; it doesn't work like that." 

"If making copies of memories were so simple a matter, I would hardly need to spare the effort." DiZ's reply was condescending. "The fact of the matter is that they hold half of Sora's power and a significant portion of his memories between them, and as you yourself noted, they cannot return to Sora in the form they are now." 

Axel released DiZ's scarf then, giving the man a bit of a shove. He didn't like the sound of this, not at all, but he didn't have the patience to deal with the doubletalk. Normally Axel would have loved to actually have a chat with someone who spoke sidewinder as well as he did, but everything about this DiZ fellow was getting on his nerves. 

The last thing he wanted to do was let DiZ know he was getting under his skin. 

"Keep your arrogance and righteousness to yourself, old man," he spat, "and keep your hands _off_ my friends. I don't care how little you think they're worth without Sora, but their lives aren't yours to decide what to do with." 

DiZ rapidly backed away, until he and scarf were both out of Axel's reach. It was there that he raised his chin arrogantly, "I do not take orders from you, Nobody." 

Darkness formed at his feet again, rising up slowly to encompass his entire form, then vanishing into empty air. He was gone. 

Axel just rolled his eyes as the corridor closed. 

"I do not take orders from _you,_ Nobody, mrr mrr mrr," he echoed mockingly, making a flapping motion in the air with his hands. "Bah, go on, _run_ away, you old coward. Touch those kids again and you'll regret it." 

Of course he knew DiZ couldn't hear him now, but he wasn't about to actually let him have the last word, whether he knew it or not. Putting his hands on his hips and gazing around the now-empty room a moment, a splash of color on the plain white walls caught Axel's eye. Furrowing his brow a little, he crossed the room to peer at some of Naminé's sketches, taped to the wall, adding a vein of brightness to the drab, eerily white room. There weren't many, less than a dozen, but they brought a sort of cheer to the corner of the room. 

One image in particular made something twinge behind Axel's sternum: it was a simple scene of three figures, one with red hair, one with gold, and one with a familiar black hood raised over their head. It was fairly obvious who it was supposed to represent, and Axel lifted a hand to lightly brush his fingertips over the two smaller figures. 

Yes, this was the way it was supposed to be. The three of them weren't meant to be separated, and Axel was going to do whatever it took to keep them together. 

Pivoting, he opened up a corridor and stepped through. He would have to make a report to Saïx before he could rendezvous with the kids, unfortunately. Roxas was no fool, for all his inexperience with this sort of thing, and he knew Wonderland well enough, but he knew Xion was in no state to be rational right now, and Naminé had spent most of her existence locked up in whatever cage her captors felt suited the needs of the operation. He wasn't so sure Roxas was prepared to deal with this much all at once, but he was going to have to put his faith in the kid for the time being. He only hoped they would be all right until he could find them.

* * *

"And you are certain you did everything within your power?" 

Axel was starting to get really tired of Saïx's voice. His first stop had been back to the castle to report in--best to play the good soldier, after all--but suddenly running away to Wonderland was looking better and better. 

" _Yes_ I did everything in my power," he said sharply, glowering at him and flapping his arms helplessly at his sides. "You know I know as well as you do what will happen to them if they don't come back--what makes you think I wouldn't try?" 

Saïx scrutinized him a moment, and Axel was suddenly glad he'd made the effort to stop off in Agrabah to take out a few dozen Heartless. As much as he hated how gross he felt right now, the sheen of sweat on his brow and the general look of dishevelment made the story more believable. Roxas was no pushover--even Saïx had firsthand experience with that--and Axel knew he couldn't call him weak or inept for failing to retrieve him without inflicting the same accusations upon himself. Saïx would never call himself weak or inept, of course, so Axel would be in the clear for the time being. 

Saïx's gold eyes shifted away from Axel then and back to his clipboard where he made a note. Axel would have _loved_ to get a good look at his old friend's notes sometime; it might have been nice to know how Saïx actually felt about him. 

Oh, wait, Saïx didn't feel _anything._ None of them did. 

"Very well," Saïx said after a moment. "Go clean up, I suppose. We can try again tomorrow." 

"We?" 

Saïx gave him a long-suffering look. "By 'we' I mean 'you', of course," he said dryly. "If anyone has any chance of retrieving Roxas in one piece, it's you." 

"And Xion?" Axel asked, his eyes narrow. "What of her?" 

"I care not what you do with the broken puppet," he said. "Xemnas has no need of damaged goods. However, should your efforts to bring Roxas back fail, the replica would be an acceptable consolation prize." 

Axel clenched his jaw to keep from saying what he really wanted to say. He couldn't dig this grave yet, as much as he honestly would have liked to. Little would have pleased him so much as punching Saïx right in the kisser in that instant. 

No, he couldn't do that. Not yet. The kids were counting on him; he couldn't blow their cover. So long as the Organization thought he was looking for them the pursuit would be his alone. 

"Go shower," Saïx said tersely; "I don't need to be able to feel to be able to _smell_." 

The cinders of Axel's temper flared brightly and his eyes flashed. "Yeah you smell like a dozen friggin' _roses_ ," Axel snapped. "You always _do_." 

And with that he brushed roughly past him and headed down the hall. 

It had been foolish of him, perhaps, to think that there was any shadow of Isa left within the cold, empty husk that was Saïx. Axel had done Roxas and Xion more than his share of unkindnesses, for all he had done it with their safety in mind, but being around Saïx was a constant kick in the side these days. Perhaps the constant sting of knowing his oldest friend was standing in front of him, but at the same time couldn't have been further away, was penance enough for his crimes.

* * *

The corridor whispered open and Axel stepped out into the Lotus Forest of Wonderland. This place had always been a bit creepy to him, in that way amusement parks and clowns were creepy. Wonderland wasn't supposed to be a scary place, all things considered, but something about the dissonance of bright, cheerful colors with the dark, eerie defiance of simple physics always kind of gave him the heebie jeebies. 

It made for a great hiding place, though, and that was the important part. Now all he had to do was _find_ them. He was suddenly kicking himself for not coming up with some sort of password or something so the kids would know it was safe and all clear, but he didn't figure Roxas would think to suspect he'd been sent here as part of a trap or anything. Axel was far too clever for that, right? 

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Axel ambled forward through the forest, past the gargantuan flowers and too-tall grass. Scrabbling up onto an oversized mushroom he climbed up the spiral of toadstools and shaded his eyes to squint out over the wood. 

Great, it would take all evening to search this place, and he knew Roxas would have taken pains to hide the girls well. Nothing less from Roxas, after all. Sitting on the edge of the toadstool Axel gripped his chin in thought. Pity he hadn't kept a couple of those walkie-talkies from Castle Oblivion; they would have come in awful handy right about then.

Thankfully it seemed Roxas had been keeping a vigilant lookout, because not two minutes after clambering up to his vantage point atop the mushrooms did Axel spot the kid waving his arms from beyond a patch of the tall grass. Oh, lovely, that was certainly much easier than having to hunt for them. Hopping down from the toadstools Axel jogged toward the wall of grass. 

It took some struggling to push through it, and he let out an indignant unbecoming squawk as the last line of grassy defense finally gave way and sent him sprawling into the little clearing beyond it. 

"Ugh, next time remind me to bring a weed-whacker," he grumbled, rubbing his head where he had been spilled unceremoniously onto the ground. 

Normally Roxas might have laughed or teased him. No such luck now; apparently it was still a little too soon for that. Instead, Roxas gave him a look that teetered on irritation but was mostly comprised of relief. 

"What took you so long?!" he asked, apparently a little flustered. "I dunno what else I'm supposed to do to fix it." 

"Fix what?" Axel asked, frowning. He'd thought they would be okay--had something happened?

Roxas grabbed his arm impatiently and tugged. "C'mon, this way." 

The area Roxas had picked to hide in was fairly secluded, with leaves overhead shielding most of it from view. It was still small enough that what Roxas was talking about became readily apparent once they got inside it, however. Naminé sat on one side, her knees tucked neatly beneath her and a look of relief on her face as the two of them came into view, but what really caught his attention was Xion. She was curled up in a corner of the grass, shoulders shaking a little as she blinked up at him with a tear-streaked face and puffy eyes. 

Now, Axel was far from the sensitive sentimental type, but even he was not immune to the effects of small sad girl. His expression drew up in concern and he cast a questioning glance at Naminé before taking to a knee in front of Xion. 

"Hey, what happened?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder at Roxas. "Were you guys attacked? I didn't see any Heartless when I arrived..." That didn't mean Roxas hadn't taken care of them all before he arrived, though. "Is anybody hurt?" 

He might have sucked at restorative magic, but that didn't mean he was just going to leave them battered without at least having a go at it. 

Roxas shook his head. "There wasn't anything big. We were sitting here for a while and she just... started crying," he said, some of his impatience gave way to helplessness. 

"I think," Naminé ventured quietly, "she finally got the chance to think about what happened earlier." 

Xion, for her part, blinked at him for a couple seconds, her breath hitching, before ducking her head down into her knees. 

Oh. That made sense. The gravity of everything hadn't really even hit _Axel_ yet, but mostly because he'd been otherwise occupied. Xion had nearly settled to having herself destroyed, though, and it was really no wonder she was crumpling under the weight of that on her little shoulders. 

No one was _physically_ hurt, but it seemed there was plenty of psychological damage to go around. Admittedly, Axel wasn't sure what _he_ could to do fix that either, but Roxas was looking at him expectantly, so he had to at least have a go at it. 

He cleared his throat awkwardly. 

"I see," he said quietly, and then reached out to put a hand carefully atop Xion's head. "Hey, you, it's okay now, okay? You can cry if you wanna cry, but... well, we're gonna figure something out." He hesitated, then sighed softly when she didn't move. His hand tightened a little and he sort of scrunched his fingers against her hair. "I know it seems hopeless right now," he said, "and I know we've got a lot of work to do before things are fixed and back to normal, but..." 

There was a beat of silence and she sniffled loudly before lifting her head ever so slightly. He met her eye when she peeked up out of her little cocoon of arms and self-loathing and he ventured a small smile. 

"I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say I'd rather have you here and crying and kinda broken than not have you at all; commit it to memory." 

Xion's eyes welled up with fresh tears for a moment, and she half-sobbed. Then she leaned forward, ducking her head against his shoulder with one hand fisting tightly into the fabric of his coat. 

"I-I'm s-s-sorry," she choked out, her voice thick and almost difficult to understand. "I-I'm so s-so sorry..." 

"Er--" 

Axel sort of jumped at the sudden movement and proximity, but forbade himself to pull away. It was less that he was averse to being in physical contact with someone and more that there were so few people he was comfortable enough with to _do_ so that it was just kneejerk to be on-guard. He never really knew what to do with something like this, though; adept as Axel was at talking himself out of trouble and confident as he was with himself, he really had no idea how to comfort someone. Words, weapons, and fire were the only thing he really excelled at, and he had a feeling none of them were really going to do much good here. 

So Axel glanced up at Naminé, as if asking what he was supposed to do with this, and she just delicately hid a smile behind one hand. He supposed he knew what that meant. Lifting his other hand to Xion's shoulder, he patted it awkwardly and then ruffled her hair. 

"H-hey, come on, when I said I was going to scold you later I wasn't really being serious," he said. "Oi, Xion..." Another sigh and he reached down to take her chin in one hand, tilting her head up to look at him. "Hey. Seriously, what were you thinking?" he asked, his voice more sad than accusatory. "Did you really think your two best friends were just gonna sit around and let you destroy yourself? What do you take us for?" 

Xion hiccuped, eyes closing tight as a few more tears leaked out the corners. "I-I didn't... didn't really think..." She took a shuddering breath "I... I didn't wanna to lose y-you guys. D-didn't want you get h-h-hurt because of me." 

Oh boy he was really not cut out for dealing with this sort of thing. He looked up to Roxas. 

"Little help here?" he asked, but the other boy was already kneeling impatiently next to them. 

"We don't--!" He cut himself off frustratedly, before starting over, "We don't want anything bad to happen to _you_ either." 

Axel nodded. He understood where she was coming from--really he did! But why couldn't she understand that _losing_ her would have hurt them as well? 

"You should've come to us first," he scolded gently, giving her a stern look. Then he facefaulted. "Er... well, one of us at a time, I guess, since I know we... kinda weren't really on speaking terms for a while there." 

Right, he still needed to mend things with Roxas. This situation with Xion took precedence right now, but Axel wasn't keen on losing his friends ever again. He had been through it more than enough times already and certainly wasn't going to allow it to happen again because of his own stubbornness, good intentions notwithstanding. 

His knees were starting to ache and so he shifted a bit to sit on his rump, Xion sort of listing bonelessly against him and half-tumbling into his lap. With a wordless startled noise he fumbled to catch her and then took both her shoulders in his hands. 

"Dying like that is a copout," he said, frowning. "Never just throw your existence away when there's the slightest chance of a way to live; got it memorized?" His eyes were bright and determined. "Roxas wouldn't want you to die so he could live." He lifted his eyes to the boy then, his brows raised in inquiry. "Right?" 

He knew the answer without asking, but figured Xion needed to hear it. 

"Of course not!" Roxas' reply was almost incredulous. "I can't eat ice cream by myself. It's not the same. The ice cream's all salty, and my hands get sticky. It's not..." He shook his head. "It's like it's not worth it without someone to share it with." He paused, and then swallowed heavily. "Without _people_ to share it with." 

Well that... wasn't the way he'd expected to patch things up with him, and he suspected that Roxas would still want to talk to him later, but for now, he'd take it. 

Xion, meanwhile, had opened her eyes finally as she looked from one to the other. At last, she nodded slowly, sniffling as her eyes drifted halfway closed. 

"I really am sorry," she mumbled, as she sagged a little in his grip. Now that the worst seemed to be over with, she seemed utterly exhausted. 

He supposed that was reasonable--given the way the past week had gone he didn't figure she'd gotten much sleep. He knew _he_ hadn't, but that was neither here nor there. Axel had learned to function on cripplingly small amounts of sleep, but he certainly didn't expect the kids to do the same. 

He gave Xion a nudge and sort of arranged her to sit on her knees in front of him, where Roxas quickly dropped to a seat to allow her to lean against him. Lifting his eyes he gave Naminé a beckoning look and she meekly joined the little pow wow, looking uncertain.

It was time to figure out a plan. 

Planting his palms on his thighs and giving the kids a serious look Axel blew out a sigh. 

"Well... you two are officially deserters now," he said mildly to Roxas and Xion, and then his gaze swung to Naminé. "I'm not sure Xemnas knows you're even still alive, Naminé, so you're more in the clear, but you two..." He furrowed his brow and turned his eyes back to Roxas and Xion. "You're gonna need to lay low for a while, stay under the radar." 

Roxas shook his head. "Wait, aren't you coming with us?" He sounded crestfallen. For all the arguing they'd done, the idea of splitting up seemed to genuinely upset him. 

Axel made a mental note to explain the concept of Tough Love one of these days. 

"I can't," he said, and then made a sharp noise of protest when Roxas opened his mouth to rebut. "Let me finish," he said then, wagging a finger. "I can't come with you just yet. Believe me, if I thought I could tell the Organization to get bent and just disappear with you I would, but it's not that easy." 

Axel knew what he needed to do, but knowing that it was the only way to really protect them didn't make it any easier a task. 

"I've got to go back," he said, and all three of them looked a bit dismayed by this announcement. "I was sent to retrieve you guys, and I... well, failed to do that. On purpose, obviously, but Saïx hasn't figured that out yet." 

He had no illusions of being able to pull the wool over his old friend's eyes forever, but he would take what he could get. 

"So long as I keep up the charade of tracking you, you guys will be safe from further pursuit," he said. "They know I'll have a better chance of finding and persuading you to return than anyone else, so as long as I can keep them in the dark about this you guys should be safe." 

"But... what about you?" Xion asked softly, her voice still thick. "If they figure out what you're up to..." 

Axel grinned. "Hey, I'm not only the best tracker they've got, I'm also the best at running away," he snorted, and then rubbed his chin. "Well, maybe second-best." 

Roxas actually laughed. "Yeah, I think Demyx might have you beat there." 

Even Xion leaned her head forward, though not quite fast enough to hide the small smile on her face. Once the moment of amusement had died down, though, Roxas frowned. "What're we supposed to do though? Do we stay here?" 

"We can, or we can move around," Xion mumbled. "Someone else might see us if we stay here. Even if they aren't looking. Last time... I didn't stay anywhere too long." 

Right. Unlike Roxas and Naminé, Xion had actually _been_ on the run from the Organization before. It was a point in their favor, at least. Then again, Xemnas had forbidden them from looking for Xion last time, so her ability to stay out of sight might have only been proportional to the degree of pursuit involved. 

Their being on the move also presented its own problems, though. "We'll need some way to meet up every once in awhile at least." They'd need to figure out times and places, ideally when there weren't any other members in a particular world... "This place makes for a good hiding spot, but it's not exactly ideal for extended vacations," Axel noted. "I forgot my camping set, you know?" 

"And I'm afraid Twilight Town is probably out of the question," Naminé said, something like apology in her voice. "With DiZ headquartered there, I worry he would find us somehow." 

"Right," Axel agreed, "and I don't want you back in his custody any more than I went these two in Xemnas', so it looks like Twilight Town's out too." 

He leaned back on his hands and pressed his lips together. This was where their diverse mission repertoire would come in handy, at least. They couldn't stay here, not now, not in the state they were in. Xion was exhausted, for one thing, and if they were going to have any hope of staying out of the Organization's reach they were all going to need to be on the ball at all times. 

"Roxas, can you think of any worlds you know well enough to navigate yourself and the girls to an inn of sorts?" he asked. "I can help you guys out this time, but you're gonna have to be prepared to pack up and relocate at a moment's notice if the Organization catches wind of where you are." 

"I'm not--" he began, then cut himself off, looking thoughtful. "Actually... I think I might know someone who would be able to help us out." When Axel raised an eyebrow in silent request for elaboration, Roxas continued, "There's this world I was sent to a couple of times and ended up getting trained there by this guy named Phil. I think he could help." 

"Trained?" Axel couldn't help the grain of sadness in his voice and quickly attempted to blow the blunder off with exaggerated indignation instead. "Roxas, are you cheating on me? Getting trained by other people, just 'cuz I was acting like a jerk, _sheesh_." 

Really, he shouldn't have been stung by the idea. He wasn't the only one Roxas could learn things from, after all. Quashing the inexplicable feeling of loneliness this stirred within him Axel shook his head quickly to clear it and met Roxas' eye. 

"Phil, huh?" He frowned a bit. "You think you can trust him? I mean, this is pretty important." Frankly Axel wasn't prepared to trust _anyone_ but the three Nobodies in front of him, but... well, he supposed he trusted Roxas, and if Roxas trusted this Phil person... 

Roxas hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I think so." There was a sudden, quiet gasp from Naminé. All three of them looked in her direction, confused. 

"Did the world have... tall pillars? A coliseum?" she asked. 

Roxas nodded, "Yeah, why?" 

"I know Phil--or... rather, Sora does," she explained. 

Axel squinted. Right, if she was trying to fix Sora's memories she'd be able to see what he had, at least indirectly. 

Roxas meanwhile, was making a face, apparently none too pleased at this development. "Oh," he said, a little surly, like somehow his speaking for Phil had been diminished by the idea that Sora had already met him. 

"I think you're right though, that we can trust him," Naminé said. 

"Well then," Axel said, pushing himself to his feet and dusting himself off, "I guess that's good enough for me." His gaze slid to Naminé then. "So I guess the biggest question left, then, is... will this be safe?" 

Her eyebrows arched. "Safe? I... wouldn't call being fugitives safe, really..." 

Axel waved a hand. "No, no, not that," he said. "You let me worry about your criminal records, I mean these two." He gestured at Roxas and Xion then. "As much as I'm not willing to let Xion remove herself from the equation, I don't want to exacerbate Roxas getting any weaker either." 

Roxas had seemed fine so far, but Axel honestly had no idea how the whole absorption deal really worked. He sort of understood it in theory, but... well, he understood how Demyx's hairstyle was accomplished in theory as well. That didn't mean it actually made any sense to him. 

There was a moment's silence as Naminé folded her hands in her lap before she spoke. "I've been thinking ever since we left, and I think I have an idea that might work for the time being. I'm not quite sure how to explain it, and I'm not sure how permanent it will be, but I can start on it as soon as we get there." She hesitated, then added, "You might want to see if there's any other way to stop the process when you go back though. Just in case." 

Axel half-shrugged. "Hey, if you think it'll work then I'll believe you," he said. He didn't have to know Naminé well to know she would have done just about anything to make sure the people around her weren't hurting. Whatever her temporary solution was, Axel was willing to trust her with it. "I'll poke around Vexen's lab again and see if I can't find anything useful. Unfortunately, thorough though he may have been, somehow I can't imagine Vexen left instructions on how to undo the entire purpose he'd _created_ Xion for." 

This was said with a grain of facetiousness; he had meant what he'd said when he had told Xion she was no puppet to him. 

Rolling one shoulder back he reached down to offer Xion a helping hand up and she took it gingerly. Hauling her to her feet he squeezed her hand before releasing it and then looked at Roxas. 

"I dunno about you guys, but Xion looks ready to drop," he said, "and unlike you three I _do_ need to get back to the castle eventually. If I'm gone too long they'll start wondering." 

He met Roxas' eye a moment, reading a fair bit of anxiety therein, and offered the boy a smile. "You'll be okay," he said with more confidence in his voice than he had in the hollow where his heart would have been. No, he couldn't afford to worry about this--they _would_ be okay, and he had to believe it too, or else he would give himself away. Axel was a top-notch liar, but he had to make sure the mask stayed in place, no matter how preoccupied he was going to be with the kids' safety. Squaring his shoulders he nodded. "Roxas, you're in charge," he said, a little more assured now, plunking a hand down on Xion's head. "Take care of them--and yourself--and I'll come find you as soon as I'm able. I might have to wait a few days to make sure Saïx doesn't suspect, but I'll come touch base with you three within a week, all right?" 

Roxas nodded hesitantly, looking a bit like he wasn't sure how to shoulder this sudden mantle of responsibility. Axel ventured a wan smile. 

"I know you still want to yell at me," he said contritely, "and I'll make sure to pencil you in soon, but right now you'll have to settle for a rain check. If I don't get back to the castle it's gonna look bad." He was going to have to be meticulous around Saïx; the other Nobody knew him better than most and would be quick to pick up on things the rest would likely miss. So much for sleeping again anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the slowdown, both of us have been pretty swamped lately. Thank you very much for reading, and any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Resting, regrouping, talking some things out. Also Axel gets punched in the face by a demigod.

As it turned out, Olympus Coliseum had been a good choice. It had taken a bit of explaining, but once Phil had understood roughly what was going on, he'd found an inn in the nearby city for them easily enough. After a bit of urgent imploring he had sworn not to tell anybody that they were there except the guy he called Herc, who he had every confidence was gonna be a true hero someday, so maybe it was all right if he knew. Xion seemed to drift through the proceedings in a haze of tiredness and barely made it to the inn in question before the physical and emotional exhaustion had finally taken its toll. She collapsed onto one of the beds and fell asleep almost instantly, not even bothering to pull back the blanket.

When she finally awoke, it was to a puzzling scene. Roxas was seated in a chair near the bed, his hands in his lap and his head bowed, seemingly asleep.

"Roxas?" she asked, her voice a little hoarse. When he didn't move, she pushed herself upright, reached over and nudged his shoulder a little. "Roxas?"

There was a confused grunt and his head snapped up. "Wha-?" Then his gaze focused and fell upon her. "Xion!" He sat upright with a jolt, one hand going to the back of the chair so he didn't overbalance and fall over. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, nonplussed. "Why?"

"You... were asleep for a long time. A really long time," he replied, looking away. "I was worried you were gonna stay asleep, like that time back at the castle."

When she'd failed those two missions, of course. She frowned a little at the memory but didn't comment. They had much more important things to focus on, after all. "How long was I asleep?" she asked.

"Since..." Roxas paused, then stood up, walking over to the window to the small room and peering cautiously outside. "It looks like it's evening, I think. And you've been sleeping since last night when we got here. So that's most of the day."

That was quite a long time. Had she been that tired? She knew that the fitful sleep she'd gotten during the past few days hadn't been the greatest, but had she really been that exhausted? She shook her head though. That was another thing she would worry about at another time. She looked back up at Roxas. "And Axel?"

Roxas shook his head. "Haven't seen him yet, but he said it might be a few days though."

"Right..." Xion sighed, glancing around as she sought another topic to distract them in the meantime. "Where's Naminé?"

At her words, Roxas glanced around, a little confused. "She was here last time I saw her..." He rubbed the back of his head. "I'll go look in a bit. She may have taken a break; she's been drawing a lot ever since we got here."

"Drawing?"

"Yeah, I think she said it has something to do with how she works with memories and things," he said with a befuddled sort of shrug. "I think she was trying to stop whatever was happening with us. Like she told Axel."

"Oh..." It was hard to suppress a twinge of guilt, the one that came from worrying about Roxas and how her own existence was affecting his. Would Naminé's idea work?

"We could go find her, if you want," Roxas suggested, breaking through her thoughts.

She looked up, a little startled. "You know where she might've gone?" She'd been so out of it when they'd gotten here that she hadn't paid much attention when Phil had shown them to the inn. If Roxas knew his way around, that was fine, but if they went looking for Namine and she came back... Xion was maybe a little worried about her, but they still needed to be careful.

For a moment, Roxas frowned, looking down. Then he met her eyes again. "I think so."

Xion nodded. "All right." She shifted her legs off the bed, grabbing her boots off the floor. She had one halfway on when there was a knock on the door, making them both freeze.

She glanced over at Roxas, worried. "Naminé would just come in, wouldn't she?"

"I would think so..." Roxas replied uncertainly. "Maybe it's Phil..."

He got up and walked over to the door, opening it cautiously and peering outside.

To say Roxas appeared startled at the sight in front of him might have been the understatement of the day, but as the boy threw the door open the rest of the way it seemed it was less the figure in the doorway and more the _state_ of him that Roxas was taken aback by.

"A-Axel? What happened to you?" he asked, stumbling back to let him inside. "You look awful!"

Actually he looked like he'd been on the losing end of a fight. His coat was askew, sitting crooked on his shoulders and visibly rumpled, and what was worse, he had a black eye! Roxas was suddenly worried the Organization had found him out already.

"Did Saïx do that to you?" he demanded, his voice rough with anger. He was obviously still a little sore with Axel for everything that had happened, but if Xion knew Roxas, she knew that no one was going to beat up his best friend if he had anything to say about it. At least not before _he_ did.

Axel, to his credit, just sort of snorted a laugh as he stepped inside and kicked the door closed behind him. "No, and I'm offended you think Saïx would so easily take me down," he said. "I got punched in the face by a demigod-thanks for telling Phil and that Hercules guy I'd be coming looking for you guys and all. They saw the coat and instantly sounded the alarm."

Roxas looked a bit sheepish then. Axel sounded in good enough humor about it, at least. Nothing less from Axel.

Xion finished pulling on her boots and gotten to her feet, hurrying over towards them. "Are you okay, though?" she asked, concerned, leaning a little forward to study Axel's face.

He waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, I'll be fine. Not the first time I've been punched in the face, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Just need to figure out a way to explain this when I head back."

"So it worked?" Roxas asked, trying not to lean forward himself.

"Yup. Dunno how long it'll last, but for the time being, we should be able to keep this up." Axel sat down on one of the beds heavily before looking around "Where's Naminé?"

"Right here," came a soft voice at the door, and the three of them turned to see the girl stepping through the door.

"Where've you been?" Roxas demanded.

Glancing away, she said quietly, "I'm sorry. I just wanted a look outside."

Axel snorted a laugh. "Down boy," he said tiredly to Roxas, waving a hand. "I really don't think you guys have too much to worry about for the moment. Saïx is convinced I'm doing everything I can to find you, and it's not like they're gonna send anyone else just yet. They're still holding out for a peaceful retrieval."

He held up the small duffel bag he'd brought along then, dropping it unceremoniously onto the bed.

"That in mind, I figured you guys could prolly do well with an overnight bag," he said. "You didn't exactly have time to pack before you vamoosed, after all."

Roxas looked a little surprised, and Xion had to admit she hadn't really even thought about that. It was true enough they hadn't brought any supplies at all but what they had on them, but then, she hadn't really planned on _needing_ any.

"Hey, thanks," Roxas said, reaching for the bag to poke through it.

"There's just a spare coat for each of you," Axel said, flopping backward onto the bed and threading his hands behind his neck, "and some extra munny and restorative items... I had to raid the laundry room _very_ carefully, so don't say I never did nothin' for ya."

Xion would have been hard-pressed to say the older Nobody had never done anything for them, that was for sure, even if he hadn't been honest with them a lot of the time. Axel sat up again and glanced past where Roxas was still rummaging through the bag, his brow crinkled a bit in concern.

"How you doin', half-pint?" he asked Xion, his voice a bit softer, like maybe full-volume would have knocked her down.

She let out a quiet, helpless chuckle. "I'm okay... I think."

"She's been sleeping almost since we got here," Roxas objected, almost as if he were refuting her okayness.

Axel looked from one to the other to Naminé, before rubbing the back of his head. "Man I think you guys've been hanging around me too much, to be able to pull off a nap that long."

At his words, Naminé quickly lifted a hand to cover what looked like a guilty smile. When Axel raised an eyebrow at her, she said, quietly, "It really isn't that bad, to sleep for a day, right?"

Axel wagged a finger at her. " _You've_ been hanging around a kid who's been asleep for a better part of the year. That's different."

"I feel fine, though," Xion insisted.

Axel's gaze shifted back to her and he didn't look entirely convinced.

"Don't say it if you don't mean it," he said mildly; "we've all had a rough week. You don't have to be fine."

Roxas nodded in agreement, silently echoing Axel's uncertainty. Maybe they were right; she'd been honestly prepared to throw her life away less than 36 hours ago-how could she say she was _fine_?

Xion ducked her head. "But I'm trying to be," she mumbled.

"Ah," Axel acknowledged, and took a moment to gingerly press his fingertips against the purpling bruise around his eye. "Well, I won't stop you," he said, and then grimaced visibly with a hiss of pain, and Xion looked up again, wondering for a moment what in the world he was doing. "That's all anybody can do, really, right? Try to be fine..."

Roxas glanced at Xion then, and the two of them exchanged puzzled frowns as Axel continued prodding the injury. There wasn't much either of them could offer to do to help, and Axel had to know that: Cure didn't do a lot for bruises, after all-the body just had to reabsorb the blood on its own.

With another soft wincing inhale, Axel pulled his hand away from his face and pointed one finger at Xion's nose. He was smiling faintly and she was starting to wonder if maybe the blow to his head had been harder than he was acknowledging.

"Just don't forget that we're not just gonna let you do this all alone," he said. "Me and Roxas, we're gonna be keeping a real close eye on you, even if I've only got one good one for a while."

Roxas unsuccessfully tried not to laugh. He had been holding his spine rigid and putting on a brave face, Xion knew, so to hear him laugh was a breath of fresh air. He had spent so much time being so _angry_ with everything that it seemed that he'd almost forgotten _how_ to laugh.

That was right, Axel had always been able to make them laugh. Even when they had thought things were really hard, when he'd been afraid or anxious or upset, Axel had always been there to remind them that so long as they worked together it would be okay. Maybe Axel still had a lot of explaining to do, but better late than never, right? They couldn't _do_ this without him.

The older Nobody plunked one big hand down atop Roxas' head and tousled his hair, and Roxas tried to duck out from under his palm.

"Maybe you just keep that good eye on the Organization," he said, grabbing Axel's wrist and pulling it away from his head, "and let me worry about Xion for now."

Axel chuckled. "Think you can handle looking after her _and_ Naminé?" he teased.

"Well, it's not like you can stay here with us," Roxas retorted, before adding, maybe a little hopefully, "is it?"

Naminé, who seemed a little startled at being mentioned, smiled ruefully. "I'm sure we'll be fine, so long as we're careful."

"So what do we do now?" Xion asked, her forehead crinkled with concern.

Axel sighed and brushed a hand back through his hair.

"Now? We wait." He didn't look too pleased about it, either. "The Organization needs you two," he said, pointing at Roxas and then at Xion, "and they've charged me with finding you. For the time being, all I can do is keep up the charade."

Xion shook her head. "And... what happens if-"

"We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it," Axel said stiffly, cutting her off. She supposed she should have known her friend well enough by now to know that Axel never liked to talk about the grim consequences of any given action. He preferred levity, which was a bit vexing at times. It wasn't like they had much of a choice but to roll with his plan for now, though. He was prodding at his eye again and Roxas impulsively reached out to swat his hand away from the bruise.

"You'll make it worse," he scolded, and Axel stuck his tongue out.

"You're not the boss of me," he replied, crinkling his nose, and Naminé chuckled.

"I'm glad you've at least got some semblance of a plan, Axel," she said lightly, and Axel turned to give her a mock-peeved look.

"Hey, now, for your information I _usually_ have _some_ semblance of a plan," he said before turning his gaze back to Xion. His eyes were sterner then. "I'll keep this up as long as I can," he assured them again, "but I'm gonna need you guys to be prepared to bolt at a moment's notice. I'm gonna see if I can't steal a look at Saïx's roster to make sure you guys won't wind up in a position to cross paths with any of the other Organization members," he said, rubbing the crown of his head, "but I might not have a lot of forewarning if things get changed up." His eyes slid to Roxas, and Roxas instinctively straightened his spine a little at the serious expression on his friend's face. "If I tell you to go, you need to just _go_ and not question me; got it memorized?"

Roxas hesitated, and Xion worried at her lower lip. She didn't like the idea that they wouldn't be able to ask questions or understand what was going on, but... Roxas glanced back at her, apparently concerned about the same thing, and Xion's eyes swam back to Axel.

Axel reached over and ruffled Roxas' head again, apparently reading the hesitation in their posture.

"That doesn't mean you'll _never_ get to ask," he said, and Roxas put on an affected glower as he fixed his mussed hair. "I just mean that you..."

Axel's voice caught in his throat briefly, and something like uncertainty flickered across his face. Roxas frowned. Axel cleared his throat.

"You have to trust me," he said quietly. "When I say you've gotta run, you've just gotta trust me and... do it."

Xion watched Roxas' shoulders tense up and hunch, like he'd suddenly felt a chill, and she had a feeling that there were still a lot of repair work to be done on the bridge that stretched between him and Axel. Xion wasn't _angry_ with Axel the way Roxas had been, but trust was a strange and fickle thing that Xion wasn't sure she fully understood herself. She supposed, though, that even if Axel couldn't always be trusted to tell the truth, that didn't mean they couldn't trust him to _protect_ them. Even the lies had been with keeping them safe in mind, hadn't they? It had been the wrong way to go about it, but in the end he hadn't done it to hurt them. Roxas had to know that, right?

"All right," he said with a nod.

Xion straightened her back a bit. "Does that mean we should stay here, in case something happens?" she asked. Part of her hoped that wouldn't be the case; she felt so _trapped_ this way, confined to this small room, so unsure of where they would be safe.

Axel quirked his mouth. "For now, yeah," he said, and she sighed. "At least for the time being there isn't enough Heartless activity in this world to warrant any recon or anything.

"I know you're prolly bored to tears, though," he added, and Xion gave a helpless laugh. He really did know them well, didn't he? Axel reached into the outer pocket of the duffel he had brought and pulled out half a dozen folded papers. "I picked these up on a pitstop through London," he said, handing half the stack to Roxas and tossing the other half past him at Xion.

"What is it?" she asked, unfolding the flimsy greyish paper to boggle at it a moment.

"Newspapers," Axel replied, pointing to a particular corner on one of the pages. "There's crossword puzzles," he said, shifting so he could reach over to open one of Xion's folded papers to the correct location. "You read clues and fill in words. I know you guys like learning new words, so I thought you might get a kick out of it."

He leaned back then, making a beckoning gesture at Naminé. She minced over to the bed and leaned forward hesitantly to examine the paper.

"There's comics, too," he said. "Ah... art people have drawn, usually telling funny stories." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I-I dunno, it seemed like something you might like."

Naminé seemed surprised that Axel had even kept her in mind, though her smile was genuine as she looked over the newspaper. He showed them the different sections, pointing out how to check one's answers in the next day's paper, before folding the paper up again and handing it to Naminé. The others he left in the piles he'd handed to them.

"I suppose if you're curious what happened in London this past week there's that, too. Just make sure you don't leave it here," he told them firmly. "I'm not sure if the people here even have the printing press yet; something like that'd probably draw a lot of undue attention."

He made a good point: attention was the last thing they needed right about now. Xion's eyes were not on the newspaper, however, but fixed sadly on Axel.

"Do you have to go soon?" she asked.

Axel sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, I can't stay out here forever," he said, the unspoken 'unfortunately' all too loud anyway. "They'll get suspicious if I'm too late coming back from my mission."

Xion nodded sadly, looking down and away.

"How soon do you think you'll be back?" Roxas added, thumbing through the newspaper he was holding to hide how obviously anxious he actually was. They both knew how important it was that Axel stay with the Organization right now, even if they didn't understand all the reasons why, but that didn't mean they weren't worried about the danger it was obviously putting the older Nobody in.

"I get the feeling my missions are going to mostly consist of looking for you guys for the foreseeable future," he said, a grain of conspiracy in his tone. "Now, that doesn't mean I've got a free pass to just come hang out with you," he added, and Xion deflated visibly. "Chances are I'm still gonna have to take out x-amount of Heartless wherever I am, or spy on some hapless fool Xemnas thinks will be useful to him, but... it does mean I shouldn't have _too_ much trouble breaking away to come check on you every couple days, at least." He waved a hand dismissively before buffing his fingernails on the front of his coat, grinning slyly. "It'll be an incentive to finish my missions in record time~"

That made Xion giggle, smiling a little for what felt like the first time since this whole mess started. "That'll be something," she teased.

"Hey, gimme a break, I'm good at my job," he informed her, huffing in mock-indignation.

Her smiled faded a little then. "How long do you think we'll have to do this?"

At her words, the lines in Axel's face shifted into something unreadable, and his gaze shifted from her to Roxas, then to Naminé, then back to Xion. He shook his head and rose from where he was seated on the bed only to drop to a crouch in front of Xion.

"As long as it takes," he said, reaching up and planting a hand on her head. He inhaled as if to speak again and then stopped himself, like maybe he thought better of what he was going to say. He turned over his shoulder to give Roxas a helpless smile, then rose again, ruffling Xion's head fondly. "I'll figure something out, though," he said with a nod. "I always do, right? So you three just take care of each other until I do, and I'll be back as soon as I can."

Roxas nodded, and Xion did the same beside him. She hesitated a moment, unsure of herself, then finally just gave in and reached forward to hug Axel. She knew he never knew what to do with physical contact, and she knew it made him uncomfortable, but it was the only thing that seemed right in that moment. He made a wordless sound as her arms cinched around his middle, sort of stiffening up and lifting his hands up and away as if he was afraid they would burn her. After a moment, though, the tension unwound itself from Axel's shoulders and he dropped one hand onto Xion's crown. At least this much hadn't changed.

"I'm never gonna get used to this mushy stuff," he said with affected surliness. "Dunno where you guys even learned it- _I_ sure never taught you how to be sappy."

"Is that so?" Roxas asked, mimicking Axel's usual sly tone. "I'm pretty sure I remember you saying some pretty sappy stuff on the clock tower."

"Well, I-"

"'As long as we remember each other, we'll never be apart,'" Xion murmured into his coat, and then lifted her face to look up at him. "We made sure to memorize it."

His eyes widened, and for a moment he just looked frustrated before she noticed that his ears had gone red with embarrassment.

"A-ahhh, well it just sounds corny when you guys say it," he complained with a harrumph, folding his arms and glancing away.

Xion smiled again. At that point though, Naminé piped up, wearing a regretful smile of her own. "You should probably go," she said, "before we manage to keep you even longer."

She had a point, Xion realized. Each time Axel seemed about to leave they came up with something else to say, to keep him there longer.

"All right," Axel said. "Take care of yourselves. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Promise?" Xion asked quietly.

"Of course," he replied, dragging his thumb in a criss-cross motion over the left side of his chest.

They watched him leave, Xion trying to quash the tight sensation in her chest, the worry that something would go wrong, that they wouldn't see him again. Axel had come back before though. If there was one thing he was good at, it was keeping promises.

* * *

Shortly after Axel left, Xion seemed to decide that sleeping was a good way to pass the time and crawled back into bed. Roxas worried, especially given how long she'd slept already, but Naminé assured him that – so far as she could tell – there wasn't anything wrong with her. She was just tired.

Unfortunately, it left the both of them staring at each other, wondering what to say or do. At last, Roxas managed to order some food from the innkeeper. While they waited for it to arrive, Roxas sat on the unoccupied bed and dug into the newspapers Axel had brought. Naminé meanwhile, returned to drawing.

Crosswords, as it turned out, were devilishly tricky when you didn't even know half the words they could be referring to. It was a relief when the food finally arrived - Roxas' brain was starting to feel like a limp noodle.

Seating himself back on the edge of the bed with his own food, Roxas looked over at Naminé curiously.

"What are you doing?" he asked, trying to get a better look at what she was working on.

Naminé paused, lifting her crayon off the paper. She had not stopped drawing when the food arrived, but merely told Roxas to leave her food nearby, opting to continue to draw. "Working on a way to keep your memories separate."

"Huh?" But their memories already were separate, weren't they?

Naminé seemed to catch onto his confusion. "It should keep the both of you alive, for now."

Roxas nodded. He'd gathered that. Xion was... absorbing him, somehow. "Right... You said you had an idea how to fix that."

"Not fix," Naminé corrected him. "It's... I'm sorry. It's always felt so natural to me, so it's hard to explain..."

She paused, thinking, then looked up at him seriously. "Right now, memories are flowing between the two of you freely, from you to Xion, and Sora too. For you, that's a problem, because she's absorbing a lot of what makes you you."

Roxas nodded again, remembering how she'd mentioned that before.

Naminé continued. "What I'm trying to do is to use her memories to block that flow. Create a chain so tight that there aren't any gaps. That should stop it for the time being."

Scratching his head, Roxas said, "I don't really follow. But so long as it keeps us alive, right?"

"For now," Naminé repeated.

"It's not permanent?"

"No. Eventually memories will start to leak through, and the barrier will fall apart. It'll make fixing Sora's memories harder, too. I may have to make some gaps myself, to reach through and put everything back where it belongs. But..." she hesitated, "If we're taking as long as we are to do this right, what's a little longer, I guess?" Her smile was without any real humor and no small measure of guilt.

Roxas frowned worriedly, "How long will we have?"

Putting a hand to her chin, Naminé thought for a moment before answering. "It should give you a few months at least. Beyond that, I'm not sure. I'm sorry."

Roxas might not always be the best with recognizing how people felt and how to make them feel better, but he thought he knew what to do here. Getting up, he crossed the room to where she was sitting. Reaching out, he put his hand over hers. She flinched slightly at the unexpected touch, but did not pull away.

"It's okay," he told her, "You're already doing so much to help us."

She smiled again, and though it was still sad and guilty, there was something genuine about it this time. "I'm glad. It felt... wrong... to do all that we did, to the both of you, with even having seen you before. In a way... I was glad when Xion asked me to look after you."

"Why's that?"

"So that I had a chance and a reason to see you. I couldn't trust you'd want to find me on your own the way Xion had." Naminé hesitated, "...especially after what would have happened to her."

They were back on that topic again, even though Roxas knew she hadn't meant to. He grimaced, "Look, let's talk about something else."

Naminé seemed cowed, "Right. Sorry."

Roxas hesitated. There were times, like right now, where Naminé became incredibly skittish, much moreso than even Xion. It was one of the reasons that - whatever implicit compliance and consent there might have been with what DiZ had been doing, and what Xion had been trying to do to herself - Roxas could never really bring himself to be angry or upset with her for what happened. Instead, he couldn't help but wonder what her life been like to make her the way she was. The way Saix and some of the other Organization members had treated her had helped make Xion the way she was. Had DiZ been just as nasty to Naminé? Seeing the man's reaction to Xion, Roxas could believe it.

He opened his mouth to ask her about it when there was a sudden sharp series of raps on the door.

Roxas and Naminé froze, shooting each other alarmed looks. The food was already here. Axel couldn't be back already could he? Or was it someone else?

Glancing over at Naminé and meeting her gaze, Roxas realized they understood each other perfectly. Naminé slipped over to the bed silently and gently shook Xion awake as Roxas edged closer to the door.

Before he could open it, however, there were several more raps, and a voice this time.

"Hey, rookie! Roxas, you in there?"

Roxas nearly laughed aloud in relief. He turned briefly to flash Naminé and the drowsy Xion a grin before opening the door to reveal Phil, hand half-raised to knock on the door again.

"There ya are, kid. I've been looking for you." He looked around the room, at Xion and Naminé's tense postures, and his eyebrows snapped together. "Hey, that guy I sent your way earlier really was your friend, right?"

That time Roxas really did laugh. "Yeah, he was. We're just... a little bit jumpy right now. Sorry."

Phil waved him off. "I don't blame ya, if those guys are half as bad as you told me about. Anyway, I just wanted to check on you guys. Make sure everything was doing alright. Herc says he's sorry about your buddy, by the way. But you should really have told us you might have allies coming."

"I didn't think about it then," Roxas admitted sheepishly.

"Well, just make sure it doesn't happen again, capiche?" Phil paused, considering Roxas for a moment, "Hey, how about we do some training, while you're here?"

There was immediate protest. Axel could be back any time. Training in the middle of an open arena might well be the same as setting up a beacon. And if Roxas fought any Heartless, it would be. But Phil waved them off. "I'll make sure there's no Heartless, and it'll be in one of the practice arenas. Nobody'd think to look there."

"That's what we're afraid of," Xion muttered.

If Phil heard her comment, he pretended not to. "We'll be back in two shakes, alright?" Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed Roxas by the arm and towed him out of the room. Roxas shot Xion and Naminé a panicked look, who were unable to do anything but stare helplessly after him.

* * *

True to his word, there were no observers in the practice stadium that Phil took Roxas to. But in the time that followed Roxas was ran so many laps, broke so many barrels, and was put through so many pushups and situps he gladly would have been spotted by several people to give him an excuse to get out of there.

"C'mon kid, you can't quit now!" Phil shouted, when he flopped down for a few moments, "I dunno when I'm gonna get to see you again, so we have to make up for lost time!"

Had he the breath to do so, Roxas might have made some retort about how he thought you made up for lost time _after_ it was missed, not before. But instead he simply lay there, catching his breath. Truth be told, he still hadn't recovered his full strength yet, though he thought he was starting to feel better now that Namine was working on himself and Xion.

"Yeesh," Phil sighed, walking over from where he was watching on the sidelines, and taking a seat next to Roxas' head, "You been slackin' off while I'm not watching, kid?"

Pushing himself upright, Roxas shook his head, "It's... kind of a long story."

Phil eyed him for a moment. "You know kid, if anybody else said that I'd call it a load of skata. But with what it looks like you've been through in the past few days?" He shook his head and shrugged, "There's probably some big thing going on I don't have any idea about."

Roxas hesitated, then nodded.

"Look, if you don't mind me askin', what's the whole story with you and those other two girls? We weren't exactly able to get into the details the other day, and I've never seen them 'round here before," Phil asked, taking a seat next to Roxas.

The younger boy hesitated, but if he trusted Phil this much, he might as well trust him the whole way. He told the story – maybe not the whole thing, but an abbreviated form of it, how Axel and Xion were his best friends, how the Organization wanted to destroy at least one of them, and how Naminé and Axel were helping to make sure that didn't happen.

By the time he was finished, Phil was shaking his head. "Yeesh, next time I see one of those black-coated creeps I might tell Herc to use them for target practice even if you guys _aren't_ here."

"You don't have to do that for us," Roxas protested.

"Sounds like they need it," Phil said nonchalantly, "I don't have to be the Oracle at Delphi to know trouble when I see it."

Roxas thought about arguing more – the Organization was _dangerous_ – but decided not to. Instead, he brought a hand up to scratch his head. "I just wish I knew what to do now. I've never really been on the run before. And I'm not sure who else I can really turn to."

Phil ran a hand over the top of his head. "Look, kid, I'm tellin' ya, you got more friends out there than you realize."

Roxas looked over at the satyr, a bit nonplussed. "What makes you say that?" He had a bit of a hard time believing it himself. Phil was one of the people he trusted most outside of Axel and Xion (and recently, Naminé), but they'd met on this world. Phil only knew about the things he'd done and the people he'd met here. How could he make such a broad claim?

Seeing his skepticism, Phil waved a hand. "There was this kid once. You remind me of him, a bit. And I'm tellin' ya, that guy made friends everywhere he went. But you-" Phil turned around and jabbed a finger at Roxas, "You got a lot more potential in you. Trust me. I've been around that block more than a few times."

Roxas swore he could feel his face heating up. "W-well, I guess I also dunno what to do while we're waiting for Axel to come back," he stammered out.

Phil grinned. "Well for _that_ ," he pushed himself back to his feet, "Alright kid, breaktime's over! Chop chop! We got a lotta work to do, and not a lot of time to do it in."

He should have known. Still, getting back to his feet, Roxas couldn't help grinning as well.

He liked having friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gorse here. Sorry for all the delays, and thank you for your patience. Said and Done is back to being a (primarily) solo project. However, I'd like to offer a huge thank you to Kari for all the help she's given me thus far to get the fic to the point that it is. It wouldn't be the same without you.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two different people come to two different decisions, and take their first steps on a much larger journey. 
> 
> Special thank you to Twi for helping me write the first half of this chapter.

It took several days for Riku to make his way back. After their meeting at Beast's Castle, he'd known what awaited Xion and honestly had wanted no part of it. He'd given her the choice, and she'd made it, but it wasn't fair, to her or, eventually he knew, to Roxas either. Naminé herself had said it - they'd both fought so hard just to be themselves. And now that would be taken away from them. And meanwhile, there was still that part of him that wondered, was this really right?

He'd probably never know for sure.

Either way, by the time he was back in Twilight Town, he'd long since realized something was wrong. His memories of her weren't fading. He could still see her face; the look of pain and anger he'd seen so clearly after their first battle. Her confusion and concern when he'd helped her on Destiny Islands. The stoic determination written all over her face when she'd told him her decision. It wasn't like grasping at sand like other memories were, like Namine said would happen once Xion returned to Sora. That in itself was telling. Not to mention some other things he'd seen - a certain disarray in the Organization's movements, from the few that he'd observed.

He pushed his way through the doors to the Old Mansion, and something else became immediately apparent – or rather, the lack of something. Naminé's scent – her presence – was gone. Riku tried to quash his mounting alarm as he quickly checked all the rooms, starting with the ones downstairs before moving up. There was no sign of a break-in or a struggle. Though Naminé's room was still filled with drawings, he noticed her sketchbook was absent, as was the girl herself.

At last, he made his way down to the lab that DiZ had been using, with mounting trepidation. While he was able to sense the man's presence by the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, what he saw did not comfort him any.

DiZ's lab had always been fairly clear, him concentrating his work on the computers. Now though, there was a sort of disorganized clutter to the place, as if the occupant had torn through the written notes he'd had before tossing them carelessly aside, and neglecting to clean up once he was done. Riku's feet brushed past papers and other small objects, something that had never happened before. Lifting his blindfold for a moment, he winced a bit at the monitor's bright light, showing him the status of the restoration of Sora's memories.

There'd been almost no change. Something happened while he distanced himself, and that realization was reinforced even more with every step he took. With a sigh, he let the fabric drop down over his eyes and turned towards the last room – the only one he hadn't yet checked.

As he walked passed the two sleeping in smaller pods and rested a hand on the glass for a brief moment as he did so. It was a sort of silent promise, to figure out what had happened, to set things right.

DiZ had worked tirelessly to keep Sora's presence hidden above all others, which meant that Riku wasn't able to sense him until he reached the room itself. Even though he knew this, there was no small measure of relief that ran through him when he was able to smell his friends' presence in the air.

Of course, his relief was belied by the other man who stood in the room. He could only see so much through the blindfold, but from what he could tell, DiZ was standing, hands folded behind his back; there was a particular set to his shoulders, ramrod straight and very tense, almost ready to snap.

"DiZ." It was a statement and a question all in one.

DiZ didn't immediately register that he'd heard Riku, that he even noticed Riku had arrived at all. When he finally spoke, his voice was tight with anger, and he didn't turn away from Sora's pod.

"I trust you've seen what's transpired?"

"...yeah." Something in DiZ's voice made Riku suspect the man was angry with him. Given that he'd technically disobeyed orders in allowing Xion to make her own choice and come of her own accord, he suspected that he knew why. At the same time, he found that he didn't really care.

But that was beside the point, now.

"What happened to them while I was looking for the other?" he asked.

DiZ waited several long moments again before speaking. "The _other_ ," he laid a particular stress on that word, as if all his annoyance at Roxas (and Xion's) mere existence could be conveyed by it, "and another member of the Organization found their way here, led by the puppet, no doubt. I do not know what went on between them before I arrived, but they escaped, and Naminé saw fit to leave with them."

For a moment Riku's heart froze. Another Organization member? "Axel, I assume-?" If it were any other, they might soon be in more trouble than they'd bargained for, and Riku would have miscalculated badly. But Axel, Axel was Roxas and Xion's friend, it seemed, and if it were him, then there was a chance that they were just trying to stop Xion, not find Sora.

"Indeed," DiZ replid coldly, and Riku felt his breathing ease.

But that was not all that DiZ had to say. "They cannot be allowed to spread the whereabouts of this location to the Organization at large, or everything we have worked for will amount to nothing."

Riku grimaced, "Right." He already had an idea what DiZ would likely expect him to do, if past experience was any indication, and he relished the idea even less now. He was growing tired of just doing DiZ's dirty work. Only the promise of waking Sora up had kept him going this far, and he knew what Sora's reaction would be if he'd heard some of the things – and people – DiZ wanted to sacrifice for his sake.

Turning, he raised an arm and opened a corridor out. About to step through it, he paused. "Though, considering he never mentioned that Naminé escaped Castle Oblivion in the first place, it may buy us some time. From what I could tell, the Organization seems to have lost contact with them, too; From what I've seen, they're confused."

DiZ turned to look at him, the first time he'd truly reacted the whole conversation thus far. "You're sure of this?" There was something interested in his voice. What did DiZ see in this? An opportunity?

He turned to look towards DiZ over his shoulder, nodding once. "I'm sure. The eyes can't lie."

There was another moment's silence, though this seemed to be less tense and more calculating. When DiZ spoke, his voice was firm, and commanding.

"Very well. We shall have to move quickly." Turning, DiZ walked past Riku and his corridor, back towards the main lab and all its monitoring computers. A few steps from the door he paused. "Search them out. Return here with Roxas and Naminé, do as you see fit with the puppet. But above all, do _not_ let them escape."

It was a good thing perhaps that DiZ left after that, and that Riku's own face was obscured in darkness. He'd been willing to let it pass, as all of DiZ's diatribes and cruel tactics. Willing to do as he asked, just barely. Then he'd all but told him to dispose of "the puppet."

His fist clenched at that, the whisps of darkness playing at his knuckles as he paused from fully entering the corridor he'd created. A part of him wanted to stop, to look back at the sleeping face behind him, remind himself why he _had_ to do this, like it or no. Another wanted to scream in protest at DiZ's orders because he was older. He _knew_ what it was like to see someone with your face - your _eyes_ \- fade away. To see the last flicker of light to leave them as they disappear.

Was he really going to do that again? Cause that pain for someone else? After all, she-

She had the same eyes that Kairi did...

And Roxas had Sora's eyes, his _face…_ both of them deserved better than this.

He shook the thought from his head, his response curt and prompt. "...Right."

He was sick of it. Sick of being the one doing DiZ's dirty work. Maleficent had him doing it first, then Ansem, and now DiZ. Sick of being the one doling out unfair punishment just because DiZ saw them as less than human.

Turning, he looked one last time at the sleeping face of his best friend. Maybe it's what he deserved for letting it come to this. But at the same time...

He reached a hand up, lightly brushing his fist against the glass. Maybe in his mind, and Sora's dreams, it would be a fist-pound.

There might still be a way he could make this work. One that he didn't know yet. But for that... he needed to find Xion, and Roxas, and Naminé, and perhaps Axel too. Maybe not to follow DiZ's orders, but to find out what _really_ happened.

* * *

Wind brushed her hair against her cheeks gently, her toes wedged into the sand as she stared out into the waves.

A face. She could almost see a face. Eyes - blue, like hers - smile, hair like… hair like…

Ugh, it was no use. She sat down with a bump frustratedly, ignoring the damage to her school uniform. Every time she thought she was close to remembering something concrete, it slipped away from her. She would get flashes, brief images, feelings and sensations, but never enough to piece together the whole picture.

All she knew was there was another person, another boy, who'd spent time with her and Riku. No one else seemed to remember him - she'd asked Tidus and Wakka and Selphie more than enough times to be sure. She wished she could have asked Riku himself, but he'd been missing, missing ever since she'd gotten back.

And that was another thing. There were huge pieces, _gaps_ in her memory. Things that only made sense if there was another boy there. There was that place - her former home, the home she couldn't really remember. She remembered waking up there, and feeling _such_ distress, and not just at seeing Riku struggling so hard just to hold Ansem back. And later, in Traverse Town… she'd wanted to look for Riku, but something had stopped her, and now her lucky charm was missing, and she had the strongest feeling that she'd given it to someone, someone very important.

Made him promise to come home.

She'd started to call him "the Other Boy." She hated referring to him as such, because everything, _everything_ about what she could remember told her he was so much more important than that. But his name was missing. Everything was missing. It was so _frustrating_. It was as if someone had taken a picture and torn him out of it. _He_ was gone, but the gap was there.

She had to do something. Something real, something concrete. She'd been waiting for Riku, waiting for the Other Boy, for over a year now. And now, more than ever, as the feelings and half-memories stalked her as she walked down the roads and halls she'd walked ever since the age of five, she felt like she could burst out of her skin.

Kairi didn't want to wait anymore.

With a sigh, she slipped a hand into her bag and pulled out a bottle with a letter carefully rolled up and tucked inside, and a cork stuck in on the top to keep the water out. She'd written something out, spent hours trying to pick the right words to express how she felt. This would be her first step.

"Kairi!" The voice made her turn, look around to see Selphie striding towards her. Kairi murmured a greeting as soon as she was close enough, turning to look back towards the waves.

Selphie came to a halt and flopped down beside her, a little more careful with her uniform than Kairi had been.

"You wanna head to the island today?" Her voice was determinedly hopeful, even though Kairi had given her the same answer to this question for nearly a year. Trying to get Kairi's mind off missing Riku, and the Other Boy, whom she and Tidus and Wakka didn't think existed.

"No, not today," she replied, pushing herself to her feet, "I'm just here to drop off a message."

She strode forward to the water's edge, leaning forward and slipping the bottle into the the water as waves lapped at her feet.

It bobbed and drifted, slowly making its way out into open water.

 _I'll find a way,_ she thought. _Somehow. I won't wait anymore. I'll find a way to find you._

_Both of you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time, so I thought I'd upload it early.
> 
> Fun fact about it: it's actually more two chapters in one. I decided in the end that both sections were too short to really feel like adequate updates by themselves, and they both took place in nebulous enough timeframes that they could go together fairly well. So here they are!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas and Axel finally get to have that conversation they've been needing to have for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was coauthored with Kari. Thank you so much again for all your help!

Axel had always been a bit impatient by nature.  While he certainly knew how to bide his time and wait for the right moment to strike, he'd never been very good at just sitting on his hands when something was really important.  He had told the kids he likely would be able to check on them often, but it had been four days!   _Four days!_  He'd been kept busy to the point of collapse and hadn't had the chance to break away--it was like Saïx suspected something.  
  
Egads, he _didn't_ suspect, did he?  Oh, that would be a whole different can of worms Axel really didn't want to have opened up on him.  Axel hated worms.  Especially canned ones.  
  
That did it--no matter how stupidly complicated his mission today was or how ready to drop he was by the end of it, he was _going_ to the damned Coliseum afterward, come Underworld or Atlantica.  
  
Unfortunately, the mission involved the latter, meaning it took him all day and he was sufficiently exhausted by the end of it.  Didn't it just figure?  Well, he had promised, even if only to himself, and Axel never broke promises.  
  
"Ha~ah, Saïx you ass," he grumbled as he stepped out of a corridor, still trying to get the last of the water out of his ears.  "Send _Demyx_ to Atlantica, you know I hate it there, sheesh."  
  
The streets of Thebes were dark and mostly deserted, which was really for the better.  It was a lot easier to blend in that way.  Plus the last time he'd been here looking for the hotel he'd been propositioned by a man in a trench coat.  What the hell did he need with a sundial?  He knocked on the door to the kids' hotel room, then braced one hand against the door frame and shook his head sharply to one side.  Water in his ears was the _worst!_  
  
He straightened a little too quickly when the door opened and caught himself on the other side of the doorjamb when a wave of vertigo crashed against the back of his head.  A familiar blond head and too-serious blue eyes stood sternly in the doorway, and he grinned.  
  
"Yo~" he greeted, lifting a hand in a wave.  
  
The sternness melted out of Roxas' posture and he deflated with visible relief.  
  
"Where have you _been_?" he asked, worry in his voice, and Axel rubbed the back of his neck, then counted off on his fingers.  
  
"London, Beast's Castle, Agrabah, London-- _two_ missions yesterday, can you believe it?--and..."   He made a face and twisted a pinkie in his ear.  "Ugh.  Atlantica," he concluded with a pointed sniffle.  "I think I got enough water up my nose to drown a Fat Bandit."  
  
Roxas winced a little, stepping aside to let Axel in. A quick cursory glance around the room told Axel that while the place wasn't a disaster, the kids had clearly spread out a little - or at least as much as they could with what they had.  
  
"Jeez, hope you guys didn't go through all the newspapers already," he commented dryly.  
  
Naminé was sitting at one of the tables in the room, working on sketches which seemed to be scattered across it. Xion, meanwhile, appeared to have been napping, poking her head up blearily with her hair sticking up at odd angles.  
  
"Axel?" the latter mumbled, scrubbing at her eyes.  
  
"Hey sleepyhead," he said, dropping down on the bed beside her and ruffling her hair, "How you doing?"  
  
"Mm... okay," she said sleepily, "Is everything okay? Do we need to go?"  
  
"It's not pressing," he said, "but... I don't think it's a good idea to stick to one place for too long.  Get too comfy and you get complacent, you know?"  
  
Xion nodded, rubbing sleep from her eyes, and Axel turned to look at Roxas again.  
  
"I snuck a peek at Saïx's roster for the next couple days," he said, "and it looks like Halloweentown is off the grid for now.  It ought to be safe for you guys to hole up there for a bit."  
  
Roxas grimaced a bit more animatedly this time.  "Great," he grumbled.  "This whole time my life has seriously been lacking in pumpkin-bombs to the face."  
  
Naminé got to her feet where she'd been working on some sketches at the desk in the corner of the room.  She gathered up the papers and tucked them neatly into the cover of her sketchpad.  
  
"I've seen Sora's memories of that place," she said, frowning a bit.  "It... looks a little spooky."  
  
"Well that's kind of the point, ain't it?" Axel chuckled.  "Halloween's about bein' scared."  
  
Naminé looked uncertain, and Axel waved a hand dismissively.  
  
"Don't worry about it too much," he said.  "The folks there might look a little creepy, but they're not really mean-spirited.  Er--"  He shook his head.  "No pun intended."  
  
Axel turned then when he noticed Roxas had moved up right beside him, and he made a wordless sound of inquiry, leaning away a bit so he could look up and meet the boy's eye.  He looked a little more serious than usual, and Axel furrowed his brow.  
  
"Somethin' on your mind there, chatterbox?" he asked quietly as Xion tossed the blankets aside and moved to the table to help Naminé collect her crayons.  
  
Roxas frowned, but it appeared to be more in concentration than anger.  
  
"Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked, and Axel blinked.  
  
Oh.   _Oh._  Right.  It had been foolish to think that everything that had happened between them would just go away.  He had lied, he had been evasive, he had... not been a very good friend, good intentions notwithstanding.  Xion seemed more than willing to forgive him these trespasses on good faith alone, but really he knew better than to think Roxas would be so easily mollified.  They hadn't really had time or frame of mind to really talk about this before; wasn't it just like Roxas not to waste any more time...?  
  
Exhaling softly, Axel got to his feet.  
  
"Xion, Naminé," he said, and they paused in their cleaning efforts to look up at him.  He gave a bit of a helpless smile.  "We'll, ah... be right back, okay?  Gather up your stuff and we'll go soon."  
  
Xion's brow knit up in concern, her eyes flicking to Roxas and then back to Axel, and she seemed to understand.  She gave a little nod and turned back to the table, and Axel's hand swam to the back of his neck awkwardly.  
  
"Right," he said, and then gestured vaguely to the door.  "Courtyard?"  
  
Roxas didn't reply, just headed for the door, pulling it open and stepping out into the hallway.  Axel pursed his lips and followed, headed for the little outdoor courtyard behind the inn.  
  
It was a rather charming little garden, with marble pillars and slightly chubby statues of people in uncomfortable-looking poses.  There was a fountain in the middle, and Axel sat down on the ledge, taking the lower stance without even really thinking about it.  He knew he was in trouble; this had only been a delay of the inevitable.    
  
Roxas stood in front of him, his arms folded but not tightly, his face caught somewhere between uncertainty and something like sadness.  
  
"Roxas, I'm--"  
  
"Don't apologize."  Roxas interrupted him so sharply that Axel actually looked startled, his eyes widening.  Roxas unfolded his arms and closed his hands into fists at his sides.  He glowered at Axel a moment, shoulders hunched.  "I don't want to hear how sorry you are," he said sternly, "I want to hear _why_."  
  
There was a beat of silence, and then Axel lifted a hand to rub at his face.  "Nothing less from Roxas," he said, more to himself than his companion, and then cleared his throat.  "I guess telling you I had your safety in mind won't really excuse anything..."  
  
To be fair, Roxas did seem to take a moment to consider it, at least. "Not really," he said finally, "I mean... what about Xion? She... she nearly vanished. She didn't, I know that, but..." He looked down, swallowing as if he was struggling with his words.  "And... I mean... They knew Xion was getting stronger, didn't they? And they still tried to make us fight each other." His hands clenched into fists. "I don't really think I was safe back there at all anyway."  
  
"You're still thinking too small, Roxas."  Axel's voice was low, almost husky with something like regret.  "I knew a long time ago the truth about Xion, and I didn't say anything, and... that's my bad, I'll admit."  He gave Roxas a sidelong frown.  "But I kept it to myself because I knew what you would do if you knew the truth."  A beat of silence and he shook his head, running his hands back into his hair with a groan.  "You did it anyway," he said wryly.  "I knew if you left you'd be pursued.  So long as you stayed and kept doing what they needed you to do they'd let it be--it wasn't until Xion started acting outside their interests that they got fed up with her."  
  
He waved a hand quickly then, realizing a second too late that it sounded like he was passing the buck, and that wasn't what he was trying to do.  
  
"Er--wait, this... isn't coming out right," he said, sagging a bit where he sat.  "I'm not trying to make any of this out as your fault.  Either of you."  Axel fidgeted, cracking his knuckles and rolling one shoulder back.  "I just knew that the longer I could keep you guys in the dark, the more likely you were to _stay_."  He sighed heavily, frowning at the ground between his feet.  "And so long as you stayed, I could do something, you know?  I could make sure you were paired up when Xion's Keyblade failed, or persuade Saïx to send you someplace instead of someplace else for a mission.  If you guys left... you were out of my hands."  
  
Axel shook his head then, suddenly uncomfortable.  Ugh, he was so bad at saying this sort of stuff, but that was the root of it.  Axel had never really considered himself the tutelary type, but somehow having Roxas and Xion placed in his charge had sparked something he hadn't really known he'd had in him.  What had started out as the simple job of showing the rookie the ropes had bloomed into a genuine desire--no, a _need_ \--to watch out for these kids, these _students_ of his.  More than that, they were his friends and they were important to him.  The Organization had already taken _enough_ from him, and he'd be damned if they were getting Roxas and Xion.  
  
"I couldn't..."  Nngh.  Why was this so hard? "I couldn't protect you if you were gone."  
  
There was a long silence as Roxas seemed to let out the breath he was holding, then sat down heavily on the ledge next to Axel.  
  
"I wouldn't have wanted to just... leave you behind though," he said, though he didn't sound angry. More... resigned, maybe? Regretful? "Especially if you'd told me then..." He pressed his brow into his palm. "We could've run away together. Like I said a week ago. I mean... that's what we're doing now right?"  
  
"I wish I could believe it were that easy," Axel said, venturing a watery smile as he reached over with intent to ruffle Roxas' head.  He hesitated and thought better of it, though, recoiling and letting his hands fall back into his lap.  "I've never been very good at giving people bad news," he said with a shake of his head, frowning at his hands.  "I mean, nobody _likes_ telling the people that matter to them stuff they don't wanna hear, but I'm just... exceptionally _bad_ at it."  
  
He couldn't bring himself to confess that the reason he was so exceptionally bad at this was that he'd already lost the one other person in all the worlds who had _ever_ been so important to him.  He didn't think Roxas would appreciate knowing that Saix and Axel had been best friends once, certainly not right now when the title between the two of them was yet so tenuous.  
  
"Either way, I'm pretty sure this isn't exactly what you had in mind," he said, and then made a sound halfway between a chuckle and a scoff.  "Running away and being a fugitive ain't exactly the same; got it memorized?"  
  
Axel sighed then, planting his hands on the cool marble of the fountain ledge and sort of folding forward a bit, like maybe the weight of all this was a little too much for his spine.  He hadn't meant for things to happen this way.  The kids were in a lot more danger now than it seemed they realized, and he had a feeling he wasn't going to be able to keep this game up with Saïx for very long.  Axel was a brilliant liar, it was true, but Saïx knew him better than most people.  Isa had always known when Lea was lying, and Axel had no illusions that that skill had disappeared with Isa's heart.  
  
But he didn't need to burden Roxas with that information; he had a feeling the kid had enough on his mind.  With a sigh he shifted a bit, crossing his ankles and bouncing one foot.  
  
"I'm... I'm s..."  No, Roxas had said he didn't want an apology, which was just as well because Axel was almost as bad at those as he was at giving bad news.  "This isn't what I wanted," he settled on.  "I kept hoping something would change... that I'd figure something out, some way to get you-- _us_ \--out."  He shook his head again.  "Guess I blew the punch on that one."  
  
He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, anyway.  A miracle, maybe?  
  
"You still should've told us," Roxas grumbled halfheartedly, continuing to rub his forehead "We could've tried to figure something out together."  
  
Axel inhaled sharply, literally biting his tongue to keep his knee-jerk retort to himself.  'I _said_ I was sorry!' his brain supplied petulantly.  'I _said_ I was bad at this--it isn't like this is the way I wanted things to wind up!'  
  
Roxas sighed. "I guess... it doesn't matter now though. We'll figure things out. Right?"  
  
He exhaled, glad he was able to nip the terse response in the bud.  He really needed to work on that trigger-happy defensiveness of his, it was going to get him in trouble one of these days.  
  
"Right," he said with more conviction than he really felt.  He wanted to believe they would figure something out.  He _wanted_ to find a way to make this work... but was it really feasible?  
  
He stared at Roxas a moment, then lifted a hand to rub absently at his collarbone, like something sort of ached there.  It was, wasn't it?  It was feasible.  Somehow having Roxas and Xion around had always given Axel the strength to be more than he was alone.  They made him feel like there was something to his existence after all, a substantiality to that which would have otherwise been fleeting, ethereal... nothing.  They were inexplicable points of light in a vacuum of darkness, and that was worth protecting, no matter the cost.  
  
"Right," he said again, a bit more softly this time, kneading at the palm of one hand with the opposite thumb.  "I meant what I said, back then."  
  
He heard Roxas shift, and then the boy's confused voice.  "Huh?"  
  
He lifted his head and looked at him, his eyes serious and his lips turned up into the barest hints of a smile.  "When you left that night," he said, "and... you said no one would miss you."  
  
Roxas looked suddenly flustered, and Axel chuckled, shaking his head.  
  
"I would have," he assured him.  "You and Xion were the only ones who ever really believed in me, you know?"  A bitter laugh dusted over his lips.  "The Organization kept me around because I was efficient, but... well, you heard what happened at Castle Oblivion.  You heard what they wanted to do to Xion.  The second I outlived my usefulness, they'd have cut me loose anyway."  He smeared his hands down his face and stared down at the stone beneath his feet again.  "You guys were the ones who reminded me what it was like to actually..."  
  
Ugh, he was getting sentimental.  Enough.  The words were true, certainly, but this was somehow even harder than apologies or giving bad news.  He cleared his throat roughly and got to his feet, closing a fist in the air in front of his chest.  
  
"We'll figure something out," he said, the conviction more honest this time.  
  
They _would_.  
  
The _had_ to.  
  


* * *

  
Axel was still feeling--er, "feeling", that was--a little awkward about the whole conversation in the courtyard.  He was confident the air had been sufficiently cleared and that Roxas understood why he'd done what he'd done.  Even if he wasn't sure the boy understood why he'd done it the _way_ he had, it was enough that Roxas wasn't giving him that betrayed look anymore.  
  
Twisting the room key in the lock, Roxas opened the door a bit and poked his head in.  
  
"Uhm, we're back," he said quietly, and Axel leaned forward to push the door open a bit more.  
  
"Did we miss anything exciting?" he asked, and then laughed aloud at the sight of both girls seated on one of the beds, Xion's fingers sort of tangled in Naminés white-blond hair and both of them looking a bit abashed.  "Well, what have we here~?"  Axel folded his arms and stepped into the room, nudging the door closed behind him.  
  
Xion's face flushed dusky pink.  "I-I was trying to see if I could braid her hair," she said stiffly, carefully pulling her fingers from Naminé's now-tangled locks, "but I never actually learned how to, and I couldn't figure it out."  
  
Roxas scratched his head.  "Braid?" he asked, and turned to peer inquiringly at Axel.  
  
Well here was a subject he never figured he would wind up doing a lesson on.  
  
"Er... it's a way some girls do their hair," he said, and then pressed his lips together.  "Actually I guess some guys do, too," he amended, tapping his chin with one finger, "if their hair is long enough."  He gave Xion a puzzled look then, moving to sit down on the bed beside her.  "Where'd you even learn what one was?" he asked.  It was certainly not something he had pointed out to them.  
  
Xion looked a little sheepish.  "I was in Agrabah not that long ago," she said, and from the look on her face Axel took this to mean while she was on the run, "and there was a beautiful girl there, with long black hair.  I heard she was the princess."  
  
"Ah."  Axel nodded.  Jasmine was the princess's name, if he recalled correctly.  Wasn't she one of the Princesses of Heart?  "And?"  He tugged one glove off and reached out impulsively then to comb his fingers through Naminé's tangled hair, carefully unsnarling the knots one by one.  
  
"And her hair was all woven up, and when I asked the genie about it--"  
  
"The genie you guys met before?"  Axel still wasn't even sure who this genie guy was, but he was apparently the one who had put the idea of friends being inseparable in their heads, so he supposed genies were okay in his book.  
  
Naminé was very still through this whole conversation, her hands folded stiffly in her lap, and Axel gave her twist of flaxen hair a gentle tug once he'd untangled the knots, as if to indicate she could move again.  She gave him a shy, grateful nod for his efforts, then turned where she sat, shifting to face them and join the discussion.  
  
She nodded.  "Yeah, same one," Xion said.  "He said it was called a braid, and that the princess did her hair that way sometimes if it was windy."  She lowered her eyes.  "I just thought it looked pretty, so I wanted to see if I could do it. And... we finished packing and you guys were still talking so I asked Naminé if I could, and she said yes."  
  
She'd said the last part in a hurry, as if they would think less of her for not having a ready-made explanation or something. A cursory glance around room did show that yes, most of the kids' belongings had been packed away in the duffel, except for one newspaper lying on the table.  
  
"I didn't realize that it required that much... tugging," Naminé said awkwardly, the tone of her voice indicating rather distinctly that she was being charitable.  
  
Axel hid half a laugh behind one hand, then tugged his glove off the other.  
  
"It really doesn't require any tugging at all," he said, then made a rapid twirling gesture with one finger.  "Here, I'll show you."  He lifted his eyebrows inquiringly at Naminé, who was really the only one whose hair was long enough for this sort of thing.  
  
She looked unsure, tucking one hand up to rub awkwardly behind her ear.  "I..."  
  
"I promise not to tug," he said, chuckling again, and she stared at him a moment as if to try and discern whether or not this was a trap.  Why did everyone seem to think everything was a trap with him?  
  
Finally she sighed and deigned to turn back around, looking as though she wasn't sure this was in her best interests.  Axel tucked one leg up to sit further toward the center of the mattress and reached out to divide her hair into three pieces, quickly weaving them together into a loose braid.  
  
" _Voila_ ," he said, holding the end between two fingers and turning to look over his shoulder at Xion.  "See, it's pretty sim--"  He paused.  Xion and Roxas looked absolutely stunned by this turn of events.  Axel blinked.  "Er... what?"  
  
Xion blinked before stammering out, "I-I didn't think you'd know how to do it." She leaned forward, inspecting Axel's handiwork,  "It looks just like it though." Her voice was slightly hushed with awe.  
  
"You said it's a thing girls mostly knew how to do, right?" Roxas asked, "So... wouldn't that mean that girls are the ones who mostly know how to do that kind of stuff?"  
  
Axel dropped the end of the braid and put his hands on his hips, still seated on the bed.  
  
"Are you saying I'm girly?" he challenged, and Roxas looked like he wasn't entirely certain how to respond.  Naminé made a soft sound then and Axel glanced back at her.  She was admiring the tail of the braid she could pull over her shoulder.  
  
"You're good at this," she said with a smile, sliding the braid back over her shoulder carefully in the hopes of keeping it from unraveling.  "Thank you."  
  
Axel's ears pinked a bit--oh, right, fluster.  He seemed to remember that emotion often around these kids.  He folded his arms tightly over his chest with a harrumph.  
  
"Just because it's kind of a girly hairdo doesn't mean a guy can't know how to do it," he said stiffly.  "It's pretty hard to do in your own hair, after all--so maybe I learned so I could braid someone else's hair for her."  
  
"Someone else's?" Xion asked, eyes wide. "Who's that?"  
  
"That," he said without missing a beat, reaching over to tap the tip of her nose, "is none of your beeswax."  
  
He said it with a smile, but those were days he didn't want to talk about.  Not yet.  Not even with these most dear and trusted of comrades.  Axel tried not to think about the past he'd left behind in Radiant Garden, the past that had died a violent and painful death ten years ago.  That life and the people who had been part of it were all long gone now; Isa had been the last living testament to Axel's history, and he was fairly certain even _Isa_ was gone.  
  
Shifting where he sat, Axel waved a hand.  Subject change in 3... 2...  
  
"Come on, I'll teach you how to do it," he said, "but we should get going first.  I don't have infinite time, after all, and I wanna make sure you guys are settled somewhere reasonably safe in Halloweentown."  As safe as that place could really be, anyway; the spooks weren't really mean or cruel, but it was sort of hard to feel secure when half the population could just phase through whatever walls they wanted to.  
  
"All right," Roxas scowled. "Just let me know if you see those three kids in masks, okay?"  He reached out and rubbed his nose. "I really _don't_ want another bomb to the face, thanks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delays! My free time has been pretty scarce lately. However, this should be changing soon, and I'm hoping to have a lot more time to devote to the fic. 
> 
> All feedback is greatly appreciated!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku finally catches up with Roxas, Xion, and Naminé. Clearly the time has come for explanations to be given, and decisions to be made. Later, Riku meets with an old friend to discuss what needs to be done.

He hadn't expected tracking them down to be easy. Indeed, a better part of the month had passed after leaving DiZ before Riku found himself walking quietly along the outskirts of Halloween Town; the familiar light-dark mix of scents of Naminé, Xion, and Roxas were faint but still traceable, and a dim light ahead marked his destination. They'd hidden themselves well and covered their tracks from both Organization and local inhabitants alike. He was fairly certain he was the only one who knew they were there.

Still, even if he wasn't there to hurt them, only get some answers, he'd still prefer that they didn't know they had a visitor until _he_ wanted them to. He moved, near-silently between trees, allowing their voices to drift towards him, growing louder as he drew nearer.

"... think it was supposed to look like _me_ ," Roxas was saying, sounding more than a little disgruntled.

"Really?" That was Xion, her own voice rather subdued but still amused, "You never mentioned that."

"Well... things were... different then," there was an awkward pause, before Roxas continued onward, "But it had this black coat and yellow hair, only it stuck straight up. That skeleton guy said something about bombs too though. But I don't know where he got that idea..."

"Maybe from those kids that kept throwing bombs at you?" Xion suggested.

At last, Naminé spoke as well, "You've mentioned that. They really... threw bombs at you?"

"Yeah," Roxas sighed exasperatedly, "Almost every time I was..."

Riku frowned. The conversation - while it might be amusing under ordinary circumstances - wasn't giving him any real preliminary clues. Nor did it look like it would be going in that sort of direction anytime soon. If he wanted answers, it seemed he would need to take a more direct approach.

There was a slight shift in his movements as he continued. Now his steps were audible, and he didn't take as much care to hide behind trees as he approached. He had to give them further credit - they were vigilant. Someone's head - he thought he recognized Xion's dark hair gleaming in the firelight - shot up and all three fell silent almost immediately. There was the sound of shuffling, movement as all three moved almost into what seemed to be formation, Roxas in front, with Xion behind him, and Naminé behind them both.

"Who's there?" Roxas said, his voice clear enough to be heard but not loud enough to carry too far.

He didn't reply initially, instead keeping his movements slow, easy, trying to avoid anything that might frighten them off, until at last he slid out from behind a tree into the clear warm glow of the flames still burning. There were a set of identical gasps from Xion and Naminé.

He came to a halt, noting - even through his blindfold - the tension from all three. It would probably be better for him to break the silence, wouldn't it?

"I've been looking everywhere for you three," he commented finally, taking a step forward.

There was a flash of light and Roxas' keyblade appeared in his hand, held out threateningly. At almost the same moment though, Naminé broke formation to reach forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "Roxas, wait-"

Roxas shook her hand off, "No way! You're that imposter!"

Right. The last time that he and Roxas had met face-to-face, he'd still been nothing more than the Organization imposter. The Organization imposter that moreover had fought him, even if that fight had only been to give Xion the opportunity to escape. He lifted his hands in a placating gesture. "Easy, Roxas. I just want to talk."

Even through the blindfold, Roxas tensed visibly, "Yeah right. Like we'll believe that. The last time we saw you-"

"Roxas stop." It was not Naminé who spoke this time, but Xion. Roxas looked around in surprise as she continued, "If he says he just wants to talk, I believe him." She didn't seem to be looking at him.

Roxas stayed motionless for a moment longer, before lowering his keyblade, turning to sit and poke moodily at the fire with it. As soon as Roxas broke his stance, it was as if half the tension leaked out of the group. Naminé returned to her seat as well, though Xion remained standing. She still wouldn't look at Riku.

Riku, for his part, took a few more steps forward. "May I sit?"

Roxas nodded curtly, and Riku picked a relatively leaf-free patch of earth to settle on, looking at each of them in turn. The silence spiraled on, and what it lacked in the tension it had possessed earlier it more than made up for in pure discomfort and awkwardness.

To Riku's surprise, it was Naminé who spoke first. "Riku, I'm sorry," she said, meeting his eyes for a moment before turning to address her knees, "I didn't keep my promise."

Riku waved her apology off, after a moment's pause. "I still need to know what actually happened. There are a lot of the details that I wasn't there for, and DiZ isn't exactly good at giving a fair and balanced rendition of events."

There was another, longer pause, as the three looked at each other. It was Xion who spoke first, and from there the three told their side of the story. From the Organization's plans to destroy either Roxas or Xion, to Xion's conversation with Naminé, and Roxas and Axel's interruption, the decision they had made, and their flight.

Their information certainly fit what he knew, and filled in a lot of the gaps. Riku remembered Xion saying she was on the verge of losing everything she'd ever cared about. This must've been what she meant then.

He turned to Naminé. "So you left DiZ to get more time to work?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm sorry," she said again, "It's just… what we were going to do was wrong. And I hoped Sora would understand that."

"He'll more than understand," Riku sighed. Knowing Sora - and indeed, he knew Sora better than any of them - Sora would have been one of the first to suggest delaying his own awakening so two people didn't have to disappear for his sake. But the problem with that was that Sora wouldn't have seen the bigger picture.

Turning back to Roxas and Xion, Riku frowned thoughtfully. "And what are you two going to do in the meantime? We needed Sora's help to stop whatever the Organization is planning." If he couldn't talk them into a course of action they would refuse to take, then he at least wanted them to understand what this meant.

Roxas tensed. He'd been the most irritable all throughout the three's explanation. "Why's he so important anyway?" he snapped, "Why is he the only one who can help? We have Keyblades too and nobody said anything! Nobody seems to think we're worth anything!"

That hit, like a punch to the gut, because it was a question he'd already asked himself, far too many times. What right did he have to determine whose life was worth more than another? He kept his face impassive though. "I just want you to understand the situation you've put us all in. We don't know what the Organization is planning, but we have to stop it."

"We know what they're planning," Xion spoke quietly, cutting through the tension that hung in the air.

Riku turned, raising an eyebrow in her direction. He'd avoided - during the time they'd journeyed together - from asking her anything about the Organization or it's plans, and she'd just as carefully avoided volunteering anything. He couldn't speak for her reasoning, but for him, he'd been travelling with her in order to make sure that she had a choice, that she could make a decision what to do about Sora's memories inside her without the Organization interfering. Not only might talking about the Organization have influenced that, but he would have been asking her to betray her friends.

Even if it could have helped protect the worlds, Riku could not have asked her to do that.

And in any case… "I'm not an expert on Organization hierarchy, but I got the impression you two were in the bottom ranks," he commented carefully, "How can you be sure about your information?"

"Because," Xion replied, her mouth lined with unease but determined all the same, "They need the Keyblade for it. And they told us why. Even… even if that was a lie, we still know what they wanted us to do, and if we don't do that, then they can't do anything."

Roxas nodded fervently. "Yeah… they told us we need to use our Keyblades to defeat the Heartless and collect hearts."

"And they can't collect hearts on their own?"

"No," Xion shook her head, "If someone destroys a Heartless without a Keyblade, the heart it's made from will just reform into another Heartless later. I… It happened to me, once…"

Her voice trailed off, and Naminé reached a hand up to settle it on Xion's lower arm, the easiest place for her to reach. Roxas shot Riku a glare, as if it were his fault that Xion had been - however momentarily - upset.

Ignoring this, Riku went on, "But why did they want to collect the hearts in the first place? What did they want to use them for?" A part of him wondered if they were trying to find their own. But the other part of him - the part that remembered the particularly-shaped moon - suspected something else entirely, something that was all but confirmed as Roxas and Xion paused, looked at each other momentarily before answering in unison.

"Kingdom Hearts."

The firelight seemed to shiver. Naminé's face was pale as she looked across it at him. Even Riku had to ignore the curling and shifting of the darkness he kept contained. Both Organization XIII, and Ansem… had been searching for the same thing? Somehow it wasn't surprising, but it was concerning.

He paused. Part of him wanted to know more, but the other part knew that this was not the most secure of locations to be discussing such things, even if the three of them had hid themselves well. "We'll talk about this more later," he said finally, "For now I still want to know what you three are intending to do from here on out."

Roxas shrugged, "We're not going back to the Organization. If we don't use our Keyblades, they shouldn't be able to find us, but just in case, we'll keep moving around."

Xion nodded in affirmation. "Axel's telling us which worlds are safe. He's still with the Organization so he can find out which worlds they're going to when."

Looking from one to the other, Riku considered their plan. It was simple and straightforward, but there were a lot of risks involved, and a lot of ways it could go wrong. He still wasn't even sure he was ready to go along with this whole idea of theirs. But what other options did he have? Roxas seemed to have made up his mind, and even though Xion looked nervous, she seemed set and determined, and he wasn't sure he could change her mind, nor did he wish to try to. And above all, Naminé was right. Sora would have wanted this.

He had to either commit to this or not. He couldn't just support it half-heartedly from the sidelines. These three needed all the help they could get, if they really wanted to stay out of the Organization's hands. Silence reigned as he grappled with his thoughts; tried to reach a decision.

At last, he sighed. "What about you, Naminé?"

She at least hesitated before replying, "I'm going with them, for now. I'll keep working to untangle Sora's memories, in a way that won't hurt Roxas or Xion."

"For now?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Naminé flinched very slightly, looking down at her hands before admitting, "It… is a little bit harder to work like this. We're often moving around, and someone always has to keep watch." Roxas and Xion looked at each other, surprised.

"I'm guessing you guys don't have anywhere you can go, where you're sure you won't be followed," Riku said calmly. It wasn't really a question, and he wasn't surprised when all three shook their heads. "Well then," pushing himself to his feet, he dusted his knees off with his hands, "I guess I can try to help with that, at least."

"You'll find us a place to stay?" Roxas asked, eyeing him almost warily, though there was much less open hostility now.

"I'm not sure if any place will be entirely safe," Riku informed him bluntly, "And even then, you probably won't be able to spend all your time there. Stick in one place too long and you'll eventually be found, even if it's somewhere they can't get to. Trust me when I say you don't want to be cornered." Seeing their looks of confusion and concern, he added, "But yeah, I'll try. It may take a bit though."

"Axel said the Organization doesn't know where I am, and probably don't know I'm here," Naminé pointed out.

Riku put a hand to his chin, thinking about how that changed things. "The Organization is still hunting for me as well, otherwise I'd offer to let you come with me. It may still be safer, if what you-" he indicated Roxas and Xion with a nod "-said is true, and you're that important to their plans."

The offer was unspoken, but Naminé shook her head regardless. "I think I'll stay here for now. There's a few things I can work on better here, for now." Given that Naminé was glancing at Xion as she said it, and the memory of why Xion had nearly gone back to Sora fresh in his mind, Riku had more than an inkling what those "few things" might be. He nodded his understanding.

"Speaking of Axel," he paused, figuring out how best to word this. If his last meeting with Roxas had created his current reception, then his standing with the older man was probably even worse, "It'd probably be best to not talk to him about this, at least for now. Frankly, I'd rather talk to him myself about it."

There were some odd looks - particularly from Roxas - but they all agreed.

"Well," Riku said, after a moment's pause, "Be careful, you three."

He turned to leave, had even made it to the first circle of trees around the clearing before a voice called out after him.

"Riku!" he turned back, hearing the footsteps and recognizing them as Xion's. She skidded to a halt next to him, sending leaves flying. Over by the fire, Naminé had seemed to realize what was going on, and had turned and engaged Roxas in deep conversation.

Xion seemed to be steeling herself. "I'm sorry," she blurted out, "I… I told you I'd made my decision, and I know… I know that it was probably the right one and-"

He reached out, put a hand on her shoulder, "It's all right. I understand."

Xion fidgeted a little with her hands before saying, her voice tiny, "Are you mad?"

This wasn't the first time she'd asked him this sort of question, but the difference between this time and the last was astounding. He couldn't help it. He smiled, a little sadly. His answer was still the same, though.

"Nah…" he shook his head, pausing before adding, "We'll figure this out, okay? Just be careful until I get back."

Xion nodded, and he squeezed her shoulder briefly before letting it go. As she slipped back into the firelight towards her friends, he slipped into the shadows, letting them hide him once more, a companion in their midst.

* * *

Tracking down Mickey didn't take too long, which was a bit of a relief, as he didn't know how much longer Roxas, Xion, and Naminé were intending to stay in Halloween Town, and he really didn't want to have to take the time to track them down again. The first time had taken long enough.

However Mickey, as it turned out, was still fairly close to Twilight Town. Riku found him while skulking about the Underground Concourse. It wasn't until they were at the peak of Sunset Hill, hidden up on a ledge that kept them out of the immediate view of most passers-by, that he felt comfortable enough to speak. He didn't want to talk about this anywhere near the Old Mansion, especially as he was now going back on nearly everything that he and DiZ had been working for, for over a year now.

Not that he'd particularly cared for DiZ's plans, but there were parts of it that even now made him feel like a traitor all over again for what he was doing.

Mickey was - overall - a patient listener, for which Riku was forever grateful. He'd glossed over a lot of the finer details in their previous conversations - about the full progress of restoring Sora's memories, about Naminé, about Roxas and Xion's existence, his encounters with both, particularly Xion … there was a lot of ground to cover.

At last, he got to the conversation he'd just had with the three of them.

"So you're sayin' that unless this Xion and Roxas disappear, it'll take longer ta wake up Sora, Donald and Goofy?"

"Right," Riku affirmed with a nod, studying his friend carefully as he spoke. "Until recently, that was the plan we were going with."

"Ya mean-?"

Mickey interrupted, having jumped in his seat at the revelation; that much he could tell, and imagine the mixture distress and shock on his friend's face. During their travels together, he'd learned how much of a bleeding heart the small King held; it was something he'd learned to appreciate about him during their own journey. Yet right now, there was more to tell. Riku held up a hand, signaling that he wasn't done.

"...Yeah. Xion agreed to return to Sora. She told me it was because she was on the brink of losing what she cared about most, but..." He looked off to the side, to where he could feel the sun beating down on his face. Riku was not proud of the choices he would have made, and knew his friend probably wouldn't have approved either, but he needed to know the truth. Even if he couldn't face his direction when he uttered it. "-that all changed when Axel and Roxas wouldn't have it.

"It will take more time - probably a year or more, depending on how DiZ will act - but they've decided to run from the Organization."

Brave, a little fool-hardy, and something Sora would support whole-heartedly.

And Mickey too, it seemed.

"Well gosh, we gotta help them!" he exclaimed. "What are their plans so far?"

In a way it was a relief. There was no pressures or admonitions. No judgement or asking him to explain himself, just understanding and progress. Figuring out what they were going to do next. What was done had been done.

Riku shook his head. "So far they're just trying to keep themselves out of Organization hands. They're moving around a lot. Except..."

"That'll probably be really dangerous, in the long run," Mickey finished for him, crossing his arms and frowning in thought, "It's really risky." Like Riku, Mickey had been investigating the Organization, and knew just as well as he did that hiding from the Organization would be difficult enough as it was.

"But they don't have much other options. Axel is playing double agent for them in the Organization itself, but we don't know how long that'll last. Once he's found out, or leaves… it's all down to luck. There's no world they can really safely stay in," Riku hesitated, then looked up and added, "That's where we can come in."

Mickey tilted his head to the side, inviting Riku to go on.

"What they really need is somewhere they can go to rest, or hide. Somewhere we can talk to them if either of us need it. It has to be somewhere where there aren't too many heartless around, and somewhere that might mask their trail, since they use the darkness to travel," Riku explained.

"Hmm…" Mickey turned and began to pace a bit, small feet moving backwards and forwards as he thought, "That's the thing. A world close to the darkness might be good for hiding their trail, but there would be a lot of the Heartless there… Meanwhile the opposite is true too. What you need is a world with a strong enough light to wipe out any traces of darkness that they use… Somewhere the Organization won't think to look..." He came to a halt. Suddenly, his head jerked up and he beat the side of his fist into his other palm triumphantly. "Aha! I know just the place!"

Riku nearly started at the abrupt change in demeanor. "You know a place?"

"Uh-huh. I'll need to check with everybody to make sure it's okay, but I'm sure they'll agree!" Mickey replied cheerfully.

It was all coming together so quickly, so easily, now that they'd made their decision. It was almost unnerving. Instead, Riku was just left wondering how much could have been changed if he'd acted sooner, if he'd put his foot down as soon as he'd heard that DiZ was willing to throw away the lives of two young people who'd fought so hard to just be themselves. The growing distaste for the man and his plans, that had been bubbling up over the course of the past year, boiled over briefly, mixed with his own feelings of frustration and regret.

Because he'd truly thought that waking Sora up sooner was better. That the worlds on the whole would benefit more from Sora being back. Maybe he still thought it, to some extent. Because Sora lit up his worlds so much, he knew for a fact how much good he'd be able to do for everyone else too.

Something of his turmoil must have showed on his face, because there was a gentle tap on his knee. He looked down to see Mickey looking back up at him calmly, and with perhaps a bit too much understanding.

"Don't worry," he said, with a gentle smile, "I'm sure everything will turn out just fine."

Riku ran a hand through his bangs. "How can we be sure? This… changes everything," he replied.

Mickey thought about it for a moment, then shrugged, "We can only choose one path. We'll never know what would've happened if we'd taken a different one. And while this road may be long and hard… I think it's the right one. The right choice isn't always the easiest."

Smiling wryly in spite of himself, Riku chuckled, "Fair enough." Easy was not the right way to describe the choice they'd made, certainly. But still, Mickey was right. "So where is this place you want to use anyway?"

"You'll see!" Mickey's cheer was almost infectious.

Riku's grin became a bit less ironic. "Right. I'll see if I can bring back Naminé first. She needs a place to work sooner, and I'll want to talk to Axel before bringing Roxas and Xion."

Mickey nodded firmly. "Let's get to work!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is actually one of my favorites thus far. And it's really important for the fic as a whole - though just how important and in what way you'll have to figure out yourself.
> 
> Also with that, my buffer is depleted! However I finally got past a really big roadblock in the next chapter, so hopefully that should be up before too long.


End file.
